


Hourglass

by ruby_dream



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Because we all need happier ending, Comfort/Angst, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Multi, Second Chances, and Kings are slow with romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-20
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-01-13 04:42:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 101,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1213126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruby_dream/pseuds/ruby_dream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A year after the incident in Ashinaka Island, the Blue King has a chance to have an alternative ending to the tragedy. Should he take the chance and probably destroy the future he had known, or should he let fate go as it was?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> K project would never be mine...or else it would have a happy ending. This is Mikoto/Reishi with hints of Fushimi/Misaki, Kuroh/Isana, Izumo/Seri along the story. I might mess up the original anime story and some details as sometimes I forget them. Just consider this as AU with irrational plotline, lol. Forgive me for all grammatical error for English is my second language. And I did put a warning that this is boy/boy fiction, if you have anything against it, seriously, stop reading starting from this line. I will hold no responsibility whatsoever for any mental trauma if you don't bother to read the warning.

A year had passed since the Ashinaka Island incident.

The season was just like back then, the snow fell quietly into the palm of his hands. If it was not for the chilling sensation as it melted in his hands, probably he would not even notice that the snow had fallen. That painful memory was brought back along with the winter season, as if the wound was still fresh.

Munakata blew out his breath to his hands, trying to warm them a little bit. Cold did not really bother him and he used to like seeing the white puff air as he exhaled. But after the incident, he started to hate the white season. It reminded him all over again of his failure and brought him back to that day. Nightmare became his daily friend since the first arrival of snow.

"Captain, we have completed the mission. No casualty is reported."

Awashima appeared from his back, reporting their current field mission. Usually he did not really bother working on the field with regular mission in capturing strain, but recently the Blue King had nothing much to do as there was no longer a Red King to make his paper works piling into mountains. Moving his body might stop him a little from reminiscing too, so to speed up the recovery of his mental state. Hopefully.

He turned to face his favorite lieutenant and smiled a bit, "Thank you, Awashima. Please clean up here and return to the HQ. I will return ahead." The blonde made a salute gesture and started to make her move to order the rest of blue clansmen to finish up.

Gazing up, he stared at the gray sky filled with snowflakes falling. Munakata took a deep breath and felt like the chilling air creeping into his lung and bones. He would live forever with this guilt and regret, which killed him slowly like this snow until the time eased the pain and the memories faded. He wondered how many years needed for him to be able to sleep in peace.

* * *

"This strain is difficult to capture before, but suddenly he surrenders so willingly." Fushimi started with a 'tsk'. "He is suspicious."

He raised his violet eyes to watch at his subordinate up from his puzzle on his desk. Fushimi was quite competent in office works, as well in the field, to his satisfaction, as long as it was not related to Red Clan or certain red haired boy. Whenever they encountered each other, they always tried to destroy each other and everything surrounded them. Their love-hate relationship somehow reminded him of his unnamed bond with previous Red King. Recently, Fushimi was rising up in rank in steady pace that he almost wanted to praise him. Almost. Fushimi was too prideful anyway; he needed not to inflate his ego further.

"Maybe he just gets tired of running away." Munakata shrugged, while trying to solve his puzzle. "After all, we have been chasing him for half a year already." To be honest, Munakata did not trust this strain guy either, he had been causing lots of minor problem with his power. They had been trying to catch the strain ever since the Blue King noticed that there were slight changes in the Shizume City. No one noticed it but him and the Gold King as if those changes had been there forever. He suspected it was because the Kings had power to nullify strains' abilities thus they were not much affected. For instance, there used to be a factory built on a certain ground which was at first supposed to be a flower garden. One day it simply vanished and was replaced with luscious green garden and everyone acted like the garden had been there for forever and there was no factory since beginning. All long and tedious investigation finally led them that there was a trace of same Strain's power in every incidents and the Scepter 4 had been chasing this guy for quite some time. Nonetheless, whenever his clansmen were able to corner him, this guy suddenly pulled out a ticking antique pocket watch and disappeared into thin air. Scepter 4 kept losing track of him.

He was quite surprised that they finally managed to capture this strain. Well, as a Captain, he at last decided that he should help a bit with long-drawn-out capturing effort. Expanding his power around the area to nullify any strain ability, Akiyama and his co-workers were finally able to pin him down. However, it seemed almost like the strain basically gave up in running away. As if he had a reason to get close to Scepter 4…

Munakata was silent for a while before he stood up. "I will visit the prisoner. It will be faster if we just ask his intent." Fushimi made a noise of recognition like 'finally' and followed his king where the strain was detained.

* * *

There were only echoes of tapping sounds of two pairs of shoes as two dark-haired men went down the spiral stairs. None of them even tried to make conversation. Idle chat was not necessary for them. Before long, Munakata was greeted with bright white tunnel, leading to the temporary strain prison. There were two men in blue-cladded uniform guarding in front of the prison gate, saluted him as he passed through them.

From behind, Fushimi followed his captain, making pass through the empty prison until they reached the last chamber. The closed chamber was constructed with white walls and gigantic special glass, separating the strain and the outside world. Inside the chamber, they put a device to restrain the power of strain to prevent jailbreak.

The strain inside looked like a normal person. He had a silky aquamarine hair, just like the color of his eyes, down to his neck. Lying down on the bed with white inmate cloth down to his knee, his chest rose up and down as he breathed slowly in his slumber. Munakata nearly felt guilty of waking him up from his peaceful dream, but time was only thing he could not afford to waste. The blue haired king entered a string of 8-digit password before the door shut open. He made a gesture of 'wait here' to Fushimi and entered the room alone in a long stride.

The strain opened his eyes lazily and slowly showed his unfocused azure eyes to blue king. Munakata practiced his patience as he waited for the strain to yawn and be fully awake. It took a minute before the strain decided to speak in clear crystal voice. "Welcome, Blue King. What do I do to deserve your presence here?"

Munakata raised an eyebrow at his politeness and feigned innocence. "Forget formalities. To spare time, why don't we just get into the matter of issue?" The strain nodded languidly. "What purpose do you hold to let yourself get captured and thrown into the heart of Scepter 4?"

The strain crossed his legs and suddenly thrust his right hand toward Munakata. Instinctively, Munakata stepped back a little in surprise and looked at the hand, calculating what to do with it. Fushimi looked like he was ready to pull out his sword at sudden gesture, outside the chamber. "Please call me Akizuki. Aki-kun is fine too. Nice to meet you." He finally said with a lopsided smile. The dark-haired king watched him closely like he was an alien before shaking Aki's hand out of politeness. "Munakata."

"Okay, back to current issue. I should say, just like as rumor speaks, the rational if not cautious Blue King is indeed with marvelous mind. This should save time and trouble." Akizuki leaned slightly backward, moving a little to the side to make some space for Munakata to sit on the bed. The latter simply stood still in front of him, making no effort to be civil or friendly by getting close to him. Akizuki sighed, "Just as you have suspected, I purposely let myself getting captured."

The aquamarine eyes stared back at the cold, violet ones. "I have no intention to creep you out, but I have to do so in order to get close to you."

Munakata was quiet for a second before replied back, "well, you just did." Akizuki trembled at that, looking like he was holding himself down from laughing. The dark blue haired king looked unfazed. "We have been following your trail for half a year. Why all of sudden you decide to stop eluding us?"

Akizuki played his hair with his thumb and point finger lightly. "Through this half year, you never even appeared on the field when your subordinates came for me, so I decided not to make contact yet. It might not be the right time, and you might not yet be ready." He tried to joke a little, "Or maybe you just like skipping work." Munakata disregarded the last comment and gave a confused look. _Ready for what?_

The strain tried to enlighten him. "You might not have strong wish yet to have what I am offering to you." He waited a little bit to let his words sink into Munakata's mind before continuing his explanation.

"If you ever wonder why you have quite difficulties in capturing me in the past, it was because my power allows me to travel through time. I am able to move from one era to another with certain price and condition. Now, down to business, I know you don't trust me. But if you listen to me, what I am offering you right now is one-lifetime chance, dear Blue King. A chance to have an alternative ending to the tragedy held in a year ago in this city."


	2. Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Thank you and sorry for making you do the dirty work, Munakata."

He strained his ears to listen to that faint trembling whisper. The man in his embrace, who was once standing strong and virtuous with his raging fire, was at the end of his life. Blue King was able to feel the other's fluttering pulse weakening through his blade in Suoh's heart, so light and brisk like the quivering wings of dying little bird. Despite his poor sight without his glasses, he could witness the last moment of withering Red King at such close distance. To his resentment, this man had peaceful and accomplished look in his face. How he wished to punch him and wiped such expression from his face instead of stabbing him with his sword. If he had punched him to death instead, he would be able to feel the throbbing pain in his hand. And with that pain, maybe he could forgive himself a little bit like he had been punished enough for killing his old friend, convenient lover, or whatever they used to have before Totsuka's death.

_You don't know how much I want to hate you…_

Reishi remained silent; he was not going to overlook any last seconds of the prideful Red King life; the ending the other party had chosen. His senses would record this whole occurrence into details; the vermillion burst color of blood in his hand, the biting cold of snowflakes falling on his cheeks, the deafening noise of winter breeze, and the fading warmth of Suoh's body. Thus, if red clansmen ever inquired him how their King died, he would be able to depict it for them, in honor of Suoh Mikoto. It was his duty to bear the memory, being the one who gave the ending to red-haired king on the tip of his blade. For once in his lifetime, he forgot to keep his emotion in check from showing in his face, but he would not be concerned. Until the last moment, he still could not understand; would not understand why the Red King was so determined to throw away his life for this revenge. This whole vengeance idea was beyond his logical mind. If he was on Suoh's shoes, Reishi was uncertain that he would pick this destructive path, while leaving the living clansmen behind without protection, especially Kushina Anna and Kushinagi Izumo. He would seek retribution, yes, but he would choose the path with fewer casualties. They were indeed too different.

"If you were sorry, you would not even make me do this, Suoh Mikoto," said Reishi, as piercing as freezing ice. _This guy deserved it after all._ However, the red haired man only coughed more blood and snickered at that remark, "You're right…Thanks, Munakata. Please take care of the rest."

With that, all he could see was red glow fading into the ash-colored sky while the pallid snow fluttered down. His mind screamed in solitary silence, but not a single voice escaped his lips.

* * *

Reishi stared at the stacks of white sheets in front of him, waiting to be stamped for his approval. His mind strayed somewhere else but his desk in his private office, rewinding his previous encounter with the self-admitted time-traveler strain several hours ago in the underground prison.

"What?" the Blue King looked bewildered, absolutely in incredulity. Not only such power was supposedly downright unfeasible, he had never heard such absurdity for a while now. It took him great effort in his fiber not to leave the man behind at that instant for speaking nonsense. But recent incidents indicated that he indeed might do something in the past that some changes occurred in current time. If such power truly existed, it would risk the society structure by manipulating the future into something new suited to the ability user. If this strain spoke the truth, he was required to ascertain that this man would never see the light anymore in outside world.

_This strain must have known the risk of being imprisoned for life for this dialogue, and yet he decided to let himself be confined._

The Prussian-haired king contemplated, pondering hard for the possible benefit this strain would gain by offering him such deal. It would make no sense if abruptly a visitor offered him help in good will without getting anything return. Reishi glanced at Akizuki, searching for any hint of deceit in his eyes, but the azure orbs glinted clearly like an open book as if challenging him to seek inside his soul for lies.

"What do you intend to gain from this offer?" Reishi rubbed his aching temple; he was exhausted of trying to figure things out. Most of puzzle pieces were not laid in front of him yet; he could not unravel the mystery yet. "You must have understood that if you fail to make deal with me, I will have you arrested for the rest of your life, right?"

Akizuki closed his eyes with calm demeanor; he was not worried in the slightest at his threat. In contrary, Reishi was anxious. It seemed that at present, he was in front of a man who was prepared to last battle ground; as if nothing left for him to leave regret. This kind of people was his weakness. They were in irregularities faction that he always failed to understand. His best example would be Suoh Mikoto. He could never figure out how his mind worked, and Suoh tend to throw him off the balance with his irrational judgment, leaving him unable to anticipate the outcome. Afterward, that irresponsible king would just run off to let him deal with the consequences later on. Alone.

His last thought on Suoh refreshed his fury. Akizuki was taken slightly back at the turning cold amethyst eyes on his. The captive sensed bitter resentment leaking out from blue aura. He did not understand why the blue king was suddenly furious when he learned that Akizuki had yielded to his fate. It might be related to the previous Red King, but it was just his speculation.

"I think you have been prepared of what is coming. I suggest you start thinking how you will spend your lifetime in strain facility for the rest of your life. I have to remind you that you are not able to use your ability here to flee, so enjoy." Reishi whirled around and strode out the white chamber without second glance. Akizuki looked torn between calling the captain of Scepter 4 back or letting him be for a while. When he still tried to decide, the blue king had been long gone out the door. Fushimi gave the captive a short glance of suspicion before he trailed behind Reishi.

Akizuki sat slumped and resigned his fate in the hands of Scepter 4. Meanwhile, he pulled out the golden pocket watch, stared at it wistfully and mumbled to himself, "I will make things right this time…for you."

* * *

A week had passed without any major incident for Scepter 4. One would guess that Shizume City was at last buzzing but peaceful with the recent death of three kings. Dresden Slate had not enthroned any new king since last year; which Reishi was thankful for. He had not moved on and he still needed time to forget. He was certain that he was not the only one who appreciated the given time. Majority of red clansmen still assembled together even after the death of their king, reminiscing the memories of their departing family. Honoring their previous king, the HOMRA was still active in fighting mafias who dared to disrupt the harmony of their beloved city, although in smaller scale battles compared to before. Most of the time Scepter 4 was no longer necessary to be deployed to the field to put HOMRA on leash. Reishi often confided in Awashima and Fushimi to handle the case, taking into account that there was no King involved in the matter that required his contribution. Moreover, there was high risk that if HOMRA saw his face, he might awaken the sleeping wrath of surviving red clan for murdering Suoh Mikoto.

However, without the king's power shared among them, apparently HOMRA started losing their grounds against thriving mafias. Recent reports worried him. There were minor casualties in previous brawls. Awashima had complained to him that Fushimi inflicted further damage to public facilities in blind anger to avenge wounded Yata Misaki on last assignment. Even if HOMRA used to be Scepter 4 old arch enemy, Suoh's last request of him was to at least make sure the safety of every member of HOMRA. They were also the citizens of Shizume City, so he had no opposition and would absolutely see his last wish granted. But it did not mean that such wish was easily fulfilled. For one thing, HOMRA was too prideful to allow them to be protected, especially by the ones who were involved directly in death of Red King. Reishi still had not figured out how to address this external affair with HOMRA.

Fushimi was in the middle of editing Enomoto's failing daily report when he saw Seri walking through the hallway in rush, making way to captain office. Her subordinates were quick to make path for her along the HQ hallway while wondering what could possibly be the reason for her urgency. Intrigued, he left his desk and trailed behind Seri up to the front door of Blue King's office, snooping quietly.

Seri knocked on the mahogany door rather loudly and let herself in abruptly when she heard 'come in' from inside. After closing the door behind her, she made a brief salute gesture and spoke in clear voice. "Emergency report, Captain. The local police have just reported an explosion in the underground train station," said Seri, trying to appear composed despite the situation, "there are twenty three people wounded reported and more people are trapped inside the station, some of them might be from…HOMRA." She was uneasy. After hearing the news, she had been sending text messages to Izumo, but there was no reply and he had not even contacted her back. What if he was injured? She could only pray that he was on his usual bar at that moment and his name was not among the victim list.

Reishi sighed in frustration and leaned back on his seat, pushing his eyeglasses up to the bridge of his nose. He promised Mikoto that he would ensure the safety of his family, but until this second, he failed to keep that single promise. Ex-red clan members rejected him, and he was not going to have diplomatic discussion with HOMRA anytime soon. He could enforce the law to HOMRA to shelter them from unnecessary struggle, but that would mean taking the freedom away from them and he was certain Mikoto did not ask him to protect them by putting them in custody.

' _If only you were still here to protect your family, I would not have to worry like this…'_

Putting his chin on his folding fingers, Reishi called in a loud voice, "Come in, Fushimi-kun." Seri's eyes widened in surprise and whirled around to stare at the silent door. She was positive that she did not hear a knock, so Fushimi must be following her before. And eavesdropping!

It was a second away before the door made a shrieking sound and Fushimi appeared behind it, looking annoyed. He clicked his tongue like usual at his captain, to Seri's irritation. Fushimi was talented and extremely capable, but his poor behavior and impudence toward Captain were not tolerated. The head of Scepter 4 paid no heed to such audacity, and continued on. "As you may hear behind that door, Fushimi-kun," said Reishi cynically, "I inquire you both to assess the incident, to contain the casualty to minimum damage and make full report to me today." Seri nodded in acknowledgement while Fushimi looked apathetic, although Reishi knew better that his look was nothing but a façade of his anxiety.

Both of his commanders were about to leave the office when Reishi added on, "and try not to destroy the city more than it is, Fushimi-kun." Fushimi threw him a disdainful glance with another click of tongue before closing the door. The blue king would not stop his third-in-command from picking a fight with the unauthorized mafia, as long as he did not cause inconvenience to public service and made him held responsible by the Gold King. Fushimi was a difficult child after all.

He rested his head on his desk, feeling at loss. The whole situation was like he had to finish his puzzle while a piece was gone. It would never be completed and forever be flawed, yet the puzzle must be solved. The missing piece would the Suoh Mikoto. Without him, he would never be able to guarantee the safety of HOMRA, yet he had to.

' _Your people are just like you. Refusing any extended hand, even if they were in brink of annihilation. None of you even realize the feeling of people who worry for you.'_

Reishi smiled bitterly at the thought. The time for him to worry about certain red-haired king was long overdue. Now he should at least spare Awashima and Fushimi from those terrible feelings called guilt and concern. Guilt for not being able to do anything for their important persons; concern for the safety of those who would not even bother to worry about their own wellbeing. It was his duty to make arrangement to maintain peace, even for HOMRA.

But how should he accomplish it?

* * *

The smoke rose up high to the sky that Fushimi was able to locate the source of fire soon. Shrilling sound of sirens was loud and maddening to his ears, as deafening as the drumming beats of his pulse. It was just a week ago when he found Misaki stumbling with help from Bandou to keep him steady with bleeding right leg from gunshot on the battle ground between HOMRA and a group of mafia. His ex-best friend, who was always lively, looked pale from the blood loss. Fushimi hated that weak look; he wanted the usual Misaki, who always scorned him and bickered with him, exchanging blows with him with the mixture color of blue and red swirling in the air between them before the death of Suoh Mikoto. Before he knew it, he found himself in the middle of crumbling city with a bloody and torn HOMRA's enemy in his fist and surrounded by unconscious battered bodies of the whole group of mafia. Furthermore, he was on verge of killing the criminal in blind rage, if it was not for Blue King to intercept him by forming a transparent blue barrier between his knives and the criminal's neck.

Captain only gave him a look of concern, before he started to take over to handle the situation. After the mission, he was reprimanded from field work and the head of Scepter 4 pushed most of office works to him to keep Fushimi busy, including Seri's reports to his annoyance. Beyond that, Reishi said nothing about his behavior. Nevertheless, he knew the Gold King had summoned the Blue King, demanding his accountability over the incident. It irked him because he felt guilty but his captain did not even hold him responsible. Fushimi despised be indebted.

The black haired third-in-commander of Scepter 4 clicked his tongue in impatience as the car van rode out to the incident site. He glanced at Seri who kept staring at her mobile phone with a worried look. _Guess Kusanagi still has not responded…_

When they finally arrived, Seri began her professional work by confirming their authority to local police and taking over the task of securing the bombing site. The underground train station actually fared much better than buildings involved in last week incident based on Fushimi's quick assessment on the situation. However, the collapsing station was no longer safe, and he had to make sure there was no citizen trapped inside. The structure was currently quite fragile. The ex-train station appeared as if it would crumble down even with an extra weight of a foot. It would be quite a work, but blue clansmen power was quite effective in erecting barrier to help with the evacuation in hazardous place. Fushimi squint his eyes to observe the inside of messy underground tunnel from above when Seri approached him. "They have evacuated most of citizens. Quite casualty we have." The female commander mumbled on, "Though the emergency response team is currently in the middle of evacuating two possible survivors. According to the witnesses, two people from HOMRA were around when the explosion occurred. From their description, I think they are Yatagarasu and Kamamoto."

In the blink of eye, Fushimi had run as fast as his legs could carry him.

_For God's sake, he was wounded, yet he could not stay out of trouble for a week!_

How Misaki had survived until now was a mystery to him.

* * *

"Shit, we are trapped," Misaki grumbled as he tried to move away some boulders obstructing the tunnel. The bigger man with sunglasses tried to catch his breath after the hard labor and wheezed, "Yata-san, let's just wait for rescue team to pick us up from the roof of the tunnel. The exit is totally blocked." The red-haired boy was annoyed. He did not like waiting for a rescue like a damsel in distress. But looking at their current predicament, it seemed there was really no other way out but from the top. A ray of sunlight broke through the hole on the tunnel rooftop, but it seemed their location was far-off from the outside. They would be able to do something, like making a larger hole on the roof if they still had their previous power to send SOS. But past was in the past, their time of glory was gone along with their King.

Seeing they had no other choice but to wait for help, Misaki threw himself on the cleared ground and used his arms as his pillow. "Man, what a coward. Those stupid criminals turn tail and bomb the whole place once they are cornered. And they act so high and mighty before just because Mikoto-san is not here to stop them."

Rikio only gave a sad, understanding smile and sat beside him. "Yeah, we all miss him." Misaki turned his head to face Rikio for a moment and his mood went into melancholic. They lied there in comfortable silence until they could hear continuous rumble and see gleaming dust falling from the crack on the rooftop right above them. Misaki was quick on his feet to move away from their relaxing place to avoid getting crushed by the falling rock from the top. Rikio as bigger one, scrambled away in panic when the boulders started to fall near him, and he escaped by hairline for his life.

The red-haired man stared up and almost yelled with joy when he saw a shadow of person from crack which was much larger compared to before. His happiness did not last long until he saw the face of his savior.

"Oiii…Misaki, still alive?" Fushimi poked his head, peering through the hole with a sneer smile like a cunning feline. "Guess you are really like a cockroach. I wonder if anything can kill you."

"Damn, why are you here, monkey?!" He raised his fist up to challenge the traitor of HOMRA. Just looking at Fushimi's face made him mad, especially his uniform. Scepter 4 stole away his ex-best friend, turned him into a freak, and just recently that accursed organization murdered their King and put gloomy atmosphere in his friend and family. He simply could not forgive Scepter 4 for taking away everything, and this grudge probably would not fade with time. He knew that the death of Red King was inevitable, and it was not right to push the blame on Scepter 4 which only tried to clean up the mess, but right now he needed someone else to blame until he could forget the pain of loss and get in term with it.

Fushimi clicked his tongue and scoffed, "so uncute. Maybe I should just leave you here to rot."

"I don't need the damn blue dogs to save me!"

"…or maybe I'll just kill you here."

"Yata-san, let's not fight right now…"

Misaki whirled around and grabbed Rikio's collar shirt on his fist, "No, we don't need our enemy to save us!" Before he realized it, Fushimi already jumped into the wrecked train inside the tunnel and leaped on the steady boulders to make his way inside gracefully. He dusted off his blue uniform when he stood behind Misaki.

The red-haired vanguard turned around in surprise and reflexively, he threw a kick aimed at Fushimi's face. The latter easily countered the sudden attack with his hand, looking unfazed. "As much as I want to punch you right here, this place is not safe and too cramped. I don't want to write casualty report too since they are troublesome, so don't make my work difficult."

"You…!"

"Fushimi, do you find them?" a second shadow appeared from the hole and a fine woman revealed herself. Her tied, golden hair shone under the sunlight, making a halo around her head.

Fushimi fixed his glasses and looked up to report, "Yeah, and they are kicking like insects."

Seri sighed at his sarcasm and gave appointed look to the third-in-commander. "Don't start a fight, okay? I will call the rescue team to come here." With that, the blonde vanished from the sight and only indistinctive static noise could be heard.

Misaki glared at the dark-blue haired man and the latter did the same. Rikio sighed, hoping that the beautiful lady would return soon and save him from these living ticking bombs. He walked backward to keep some distance between those two before his heel hit something and that thing bounced and flung into the railway. When he looked around and figured out what he was just stumbled upon, he ran toward both male to push them away and screamed flustered, "GRENADE!"

* * *

"How can this happen?" Reishi slightly raised his voice, barely keeping his self-control in check. His hand which holding a piece of puzzle halted in the air trembled slightly.

Awashima lowered her head in shame, "I apologize, Captain. It was my responsibility." She could not lift her eyes to look at the head of Scepter 4. After she went away to ask the rescue team to come using her radio transceiver, another small scale explosion could be heard not far from Fushimi's location. She rushed back in panic, how could she not order Fushimi to investigate first if there was no other wild bomb nearby? It must have been a leftover explosive thrown by the mafias before. The crack was so large like a crater compared to before. The boulders and wires fell on top of the trains inside, the rocks still crumbled down. The dusty fog flooded the whole tunnel. When she arrived at the edge of the crater, she yelled out of her lung. "FUSHIMI!"

The seconds passed like hours before the dust slowly cleared away. Her heart beat fast like she had run for hours. "Fushimi! Can you hear me?!"

Another panic shout resonated with hers, calling the same name. Seri recognized that voice instantly; it seemed Yatagarasu was alright.

Misaki soon cracked open his eyes and grumbled in pain; a loud ringing filled his ears. A chill run through his back when he saw blood in his hand. However, his pain was not severe enough to possibly indicate a wound on himself, so his eyes scanned through the area, to see whose blood was in his hand. Kamamoto peeled himself off the floor without trouble and coughed. The only one left would be…And there he was, in the middle of pool of his blood behind him.

"Saru! Oi, stupid monkey! Wake up!" Misaki yelled out, holding back a sniffle while shaking Fushimi's body. His arch enemy lied unconscious in his arms with blood running from the back of his head and nose. His eyeglasses cracked and some glass shards scraped his face. When the bomb blew, Fushimi swiftly embraced Misaki with his left arm, with Kamamoto on the red vanguard's back and pulled out his sword with his other hand. He formed barrier in front of them in immediate response and effectively intercept the blast, but the impact of the outburst hurled him away along with the HOMRA's members. His back hit the wall hard first and his body became a cushion for both Misaki and Kamamoto as they collided.

Awashima gasped in terror, as she witnessed at the ragged body of her subordinate.

"Yatagarasu! Don't move him! Stay still and I'll call for help!" Seri did not even care when her emotion was shown on her voice. She nearly yelled over the radio transmitter for medical team to come in fast. _I have failed…What have I done?_

Misaki went into shock, red filled his view and everything he could see was vermillion color. His hand flinched when it touched Fushimi's cold cheek as if he was electrocuted. Tears brimming in his amber eyes, but he paid no heed in showing weakness. He hugged his best friend, hoping to share his warmth with the cold man in his arm. "Oi, Saru…don't die yet…not like this…!"

He thought Rikio had put a hand on his shoulder to console him, but his mind went blank, and he could not remember much afterward.

* * *

It took nearly three hours for him to convince his second-in-commander that she was doing a great job in handling the mission and what happened to Fushimi was not her fault. It was purely accident and probably inevitable. Fushimi was also a law enforcer, thus he should have understood the risk of such position. At least, the doctor said that his youngest commander had stabilized and he would be able to be discharged approximately by the end of next week. If anyone to blame, it would be Reishi's fault. If he also went to the site, he might be able to spare Awashima and Fushimi from hurt, physically and psychologically. Even if his presence might escalate the tension between Red Clan and Scepter 4, as long as he could keep everyone safe…

The Blue King closed his eyes and leaned back on his chair. Despite this enormous power granted by Dresden Slate, he was still powerless. After the loss of Suoh Mikoto, he realized how much the Red King contributed in keeping peace in Shizume City. Suoh always seemed to give him more trouble than his worth, but apparently he did his duty as a King in the shadow while Reishi basked in the light. He wondered when everything started to go awry. Everything seemed going fine when Red King was alive, when Totsuka was alive, except for his relationship with Suoh.

_When Totsuka was alive…_

He was not one to regret or turn back; he always moved forward, no matter how harsh the future was. But Reishi was at his limit. He could not protect the fragile HOMRA. When he was busy trying to put Red Clan in safety without taking away their freedom, his own clansmen were harmed. What was the point of him to take the role as a King, if he could not even do his duty properly? Walking alone in the solitary path of a King, he started to lose his way and the balance was completely off.

Why should he doubt? After all, an easy way out has been offered to him. While it might be a folly for him to turn back the time, this chance was also his best opportunity to get back what he had lost.

_When Totsuka was alive…_

That thought filled his mind, swirling like a snowstorm. Without realizing, his feet had led him to the prison door of a certain strain inside the facility. Aquamarine orbs greeted him behind the glass, with a sympathetic smile. He could read the expression on Reishi's face like an open book.

"Tell me, Blue King. How far would you like to go? How much can you give up for it?"

Reishi hesitated for a moment, before he entered the prison and stood still in front of Akizuki. His violet eyes hardened with resolve. He had decided.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing." - George Bernard Shaw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me for grammatical and vocabulary errors. I'm writing this bit by bit during little break time so I barely proofread it. This chapter is kind of the first climax, so it will be quite long. Please bear with me at reading it.

"How much would I have to compensate for this chance?"

The aquamarine orbs were fixed on the stormy blue ones. "I don't know. It might be your memories, or even your life." He said without blinking his eyes, "I never bring anyone with me before. I always go alone. For myself, there is this fixed price I have to pay every time I use this power. I think I will be able to tell the price for other party when the time comes, though."

Reishi shuddered at the thought of death involuntarily. It was not as if he worried much about losing his life, because in his daily work, he understood perfectly his status was always in thin boundary with death. It was not about him, but the ones he loved and cared. How about his family, his clansmen? Was he able to forsake them to such heartache just to save one king, who would not even think twice to take out his own life?

_Who will not even think twice of leaving him behind heartlessly…_

Ever since he was crowned as the Blue King out of the blue day, he had been prepared of what would be coming. Despite the tremendous power they possessed, the King could not put the end of their life without causing another Kagutsu Crater or another King to be stained by blood, if not by the natural cause, illness or accident. Only another King could kill the other King, and only by using the power of the King they could end the life of Sword of Damocles of other King. Despite of that, no King would love to have such role as an executioner, especially considering how they would destroy their own Sword of Damocles from the effort. Knowing that no one would take such a role willingly, ever since he took up the role as Captain of Scepter 4 and Blue King, he swore himself that he would take that abominable role if it was for greater good of innocent lives. There would be the day when he might have to stain his hands, but he could not be sure who would fall from the throne before him.

Nevertheless, the first time he landed his eyes on the golden ones, he knew that he would have such a long, taxing affiliation with the Red King. Suoh Mikoto was a brash man when motivated, while he could be the most apathetic man most of the day. He was like a bomb; once ignited, it would be like hell broke loose and it was only a matter of time. For a mind like Reishi, he could straightforwardly foresee the first king to fall from his grace. And he had prepared himself to end Suoh's life if necessary.

However, he did not foretell the possibility of him having a certain feeling toward the red-haired man. As the Captain of Scepter 4, the organization for handling mysterious cases and strains, he could not avoid not being acquainted to the leader of HOMRA. Reishi had steeled his heart, telling himself that that feeling was nothing more than distraction from his solitary life. He told himself repetitively that no fruit can grow from barren land of King's path. Yet his heart betrayed him so many times, to the point it failed to hear the warning of his logic mind that Suoh was a dangerous man to his heart. He should have steered clear of such a man while he still could. It would not be that difficult to kill a stranger if one day he had to put out that dazzling life out of duty. At least, it would be nothing worse than killing a criminal. He would still feel bitter, yes, but he would not feel like on that fated wintry day. But with every small glance, little smirk, slight brush of skin, his temperance crumbled like trickling icicle under the sun and his eyes would once again chase Suoh's figure.

"Then again, I ask you. For what do you bear such a risk on your shoulders alone?" Akisuki pointed his finger on the other party. "How precious is that life you're trying to save to endanger your own? Do you have enough resolve to throw everything away for your goal?"

Reishi gazed down solemnly, clenching his fist. His vigilant mind was more than ready to put an end to Suoh's life after years of convincing himself that he had a sworn duty as a King. Nevertheless, his heart was blown by the fact that the red king would choose death and follow his beloved subordinate/friend instead of spare him from the ultimate heartache. Suoh might have trusted him for having more than enough resolve to be his death harbinger, but it also meant that the red king did not care if he also dragged Reishi down with him to hell. Killing a King would take quite a toll on his Sword of Damocles, thus killing Suoh meant risking accelerated death upon himself too. Following that thinking, he should have despised Suoh to his core. But when he was alone in his quiet bedroom during night time, all he could find inside him was guilt and vulnerability. The same words kept replaying in his unoccupied mind. 'I bring this misery upon myself' or 'I have not done enough'. His heart which was warmed by Suoh's presence was shattered by guilt, until there was nothing left but fragments of memories in that island. Now he had gotten used to the iciness once again. The cold did not bother him as much as that moment he lost the crimson heat anymore. Maybe it was because his heart finally died and only his mind was left. He felt empty as days passed him by, but he did not bother. He was waiting for the day when he would be able to mention Suoh's name without leaving a sour taste on his tongue.

Nevertheless, his dying heart could not stop flickering and struggling to stay alive, to cherish what was left of Suoh. Every time he read HOMRA in his daily reports, that perpetual echo of pain reminded him all over again of his barely existing, useless heart, blaming him for not chasing Suoh hard enough. There would be no end to that constant pain. If he had to admit, he did take all this risk of rewinding time was not for greater good, or for saving Suoh's worthless life (since he was more than willing to throw it away and Reishi failed to save it). It was to satisfy his heart, putting his mind and heart into one harmony by trying every possibility within his capability to save that fool. If Suoh was still ill-fated to be dead despite him putting everything on stakes, so be it. There would be nothing more to regret, but his inevitable encounter with Suoh. It was selfish of him for risking everything for his sake, but for once he would like to see how things would end without his usual self-control.

"The Kings are always in solitude, while bearing the weight of the world on their backs. This is no different." He glanced up in tenacity. "It's not about the life that I intend to save, but how many casualties we may prevent." The Blue King paused for a moment, before he clarified his will. "I don't intend to die, but I understand the risk. This will be a confrontation against a king after all. We lost two Kings just to take out most troublesome one; therefore it will not be an easy feat to face him unaided."

The strain scratched back of his head and sighed. "I don't understand why your mind is particularly set that the path of the King is a solitary one. No one can bear the loneliness. Have you ever heard the phrase that 'a rabbit can die from loneliness?'"

Reishi flinched at the words. He always told himself that the weight of the world was too heavy that even if he shared it with someone, it would sooner or later take a toll on that person physically and mentally. Sharing it with another king was just impossible because they had to keep the balance like contradicting magnetic polar. Negative and positive polar were never meant to meet each other, yet they pulled the other so strongly. Once the other influenced the opposed side, the balance might tip off and the order would break down. He certainly could not allow such things.

"Well, for one thing, a human will not die from loneliness."

For some reason, the strain looked far beyond him and sadness was apparent in his face. "We all cannot live alone, no matter how much we try to convince ourselves otherwise. Once you have tasted the luxury of having someone on your side, you just cannot return to that lonely path. But when you have to return, you just want to leave that road to the point of crossing the forbidden line."

The captain watched the strain in silent as if analyzing him. "I gather it is from personal experience?"

"I think you also feel the same since you understand it perfectly." Akizuki simply rewarded him with a bitter smile. "Don't you think that makes us both miserable people combined together?"

Reishi snorted in disgust. "I would prefer not to think myself as pathetic as you think of yourself."

Akizuki rolled his eyes and pushed his body off the pristine white bed with ease.

"Has anyone told you that you are such a difficult man?"

"Quite often."

The strain shrugged, "Figures."

* * *

"To activate the power, I have to think of the time I would like to return to." The strain lifted his point finger in the air suggestively, "the time will not be exactly the time I have in my mind, but more or less around that period."

"How inconvenient, as we will not be able to plan ahead of time." Reishi fixed his eyeglasses while sitting crossed legs in front of the prisoner with straight back.

"Next, once we rewind the time, based from previous experiences, I conclude that our current memories will be transferred to the past self. Therefore, you will be in past-self physical form, but you possess the knowledge of current self." Akizuki added explaining, "My physical form always reverts back in accordance to the period I have returned to, whenever I turn back the time, so perhaps that's the other rule to prevent contradiction." Reishi nodded absentmindedly in acknowledgement. This whole rewinding time was beyond his logic mind. Nevertheless, there was so much mythical existence that they still had not been able to figure out, for examples the source or the extent of Dresden Slate power, and the method it had crowned the Kings. It would be hardly startling if some strains possessed some atypical, unaccountable powers. Until today, there was not much to gather from recent researches regarding strains' power and Dresden Slate.

"Following the previous rule, it's obvious I cannot rewind the time to the period when I have not been born. Because I do not have a vessel to contain the memory...Furthermore, this power is not that grand to bend the time. I cannot rewind the time more than 5 years of my current age because the burden and the price will be too much to bear that I will die instantly in the process. Even if I have to rewind bit by bit, my limit will still be 5 years starting from current time."

Akizuki peeked up through the bangs of his pale hairs to observe the blue king. Reishi looked slightly dissatisfied at that news, but he quickly put on his expressionless mask. The strain smirked sardonically at Reishi, "What? Do you think I have not thought the option of preventing the disaster by erasing the birth of previous Colorless King?"

Reishi did not even blink at his reply. Akizuki might act innocent, but his mind and words were without doubt full of venom. He was not even certain if it was right thing to use this man. A man with wisdom was most formidable foe. By the end of this bargain, it might be him that was being used. His mind wavered with suspicion.

' _Well, there is an old saying, keep your enemy closer…'_

"Now then, is there anything else you want to ask?" The prisoner gave him a big grin for listening to his long explanation.

Reishi did not waste his time to interrogate, "I will not beat around the bush. What is in it for you by doing me a favor? You mention before that you will also have to pay certain price for using this power and from my observation, you are certainly not a charity type." His hand reached the hilt of his sword while his eyes never averted away from the strain even for a second. The strain simply tilted his head lopsidedly and grinned at the intimidating gesture.

"I think we will make a compatible team." Akizuki put up his hand in front of Reishi's face to silence him if the other man was going to retort back for his claim. "We have similar goal and similar motive for doing this. I have the power and wisdom, but I have nothing much to make more than a ripple in the water called fate. You have the status, authority and brain to make such ripples into a wave."

The Captain of Scepter 4 only gifted him with an empty stare at his flattery. Akizuki sighed and circled his arms around his folded legs in front of him. "I don't know if this can convince you or not and this will be a long story. But I can't think of other method to make you believe in me."

"Try me," Reishi gave him a cold stare, waiting patiently for his answer.

Akizuki inhaled deeply and remains solemn while gathering his thought. His eyes flared with suppressed rage when he finally answered, "My fate intertwined with his, so much tangled to the point of abhorrence."

* * *

Soft light of sunset reached his closed lids through the open window, giving him a silent wake-up call. The evening breeze swayed his strands of dark blue hair gently. Cracking open his violet eyes, Reishi spent a few minutes blinking his bleariness away. He could feel a dull, slowly growing headache behind his head. Sudden hit of nausea kicked in, that he tried to hold back the urge to vomit and stayed motionless for another minutes. He scanned the room weakly while lying down, trying to figure out where he had ended up. He knew the interiors perfectly; the traditional japanese furniture, the bamboo dividings, the straw mat, the orchid ornament, and most noticeable of all would be the familiar smell of fresh green tea lingering in the room. Without doubt, he was in his office room.

When the headache became tolerable, with a soft groan, Reishi lifted his body with his arms from the mat and fixed his eyeglasses. The head of Scepter 4 could hear the distant noise in the city. While he was gazing out of the window idly at the darkening sky, he sneezed when the chilling air started to get him. The foliage outside the buildings was reddish gold and some was withering, indicating the end of autumn and early winter. Reishi pulled his PDA out of his pocket uniform in hurry and watched the date mentioned in his mobile.

_Three days before the date of Totsuka's death..._

He could feel a twinge on his chest. Doubt started to creep into his mind. What if the Ashinaka Island incident was just in his head? If it was just a dream, it felt surreal. Or maybe him returning to the past was also part of his dream? He was in the middle of considering the possibility of him hallucinating before his PDA suddenly rang out in the room. The monitor said 'Unknown number'. Reishi considered a minute before picking up the phone.

"Oh? That's surprising. I thought you would take it harder. The first time I did it, I vomited non-stopped for a whole day, you know, to the point I barely able to pick myself up." The caller did not even announce his name; although it was not necessary for Reishi either as he could recognize the voice without difficulty. "Now that I have confirmed you have safely arrived, where should I meet you?" The strain put his hands inside his jeans pockets as he strolled around the city with a phone on his ear.

The blue king dusted off his uniform as he stood up and made his way to his office chair, while staying on the phone. His clansmen should have left home by this hour, although Fushimi might still stay behind to finish up his works on his desk. There should be no problem to slip in a strain inside for him at such hour.

' _There is no going back now. No more time to regret.'_

"Come to the Scepter 4 HQ. We will talk it here."

* * *

Mikoto was taking a walk in the middle of the day with his usual bored look while a little girl on red frilly dress, holding on his right hand. It was a bright noon when Anna suddenly peeked into his room and requested Mikoto to take a stroll with her without telling him the reason. She might have seen something with her perceptive sense, but Mikoto never asked the detail. If Anna considered it necessary to tell him, she would do so. In contrary, when she did not speak in further detail for her silence, she would not tell however she was pried on. The little girl almost never made any selfish request, so whenever she asked for something, he would not deny it.

They had been walking on the city and looking around at the familiar streets and people for two hours. The silver-haired girl seemed to enjoy herself. Maybe she was just being ecstatic as her birthday was just around the corner. Her happiness seemed to infect him that unknowingly a smile was on his lips.

They were in the middle of having a little break on a town bench under a tree when Anna suddenly startled him by tugging on sleeve of his jacket. "Mikoto..." Her crimson eyes found his golden ones, as if pleading. The older man gave her a questioning look before he finally understood what she was asking of him. Across the road, Scepter 4 was patrolling around the city. It was supposedly a normal view for him, for the blue clan to do their menial task, usually without their king. He rarely bothered when there were only Munakata's subordinates around because only Munakata was able to raise excitement in him as his equal. However, today was different. He wondered if that was the reason why Anna invited him out of the bar. Surrounded by his subordinates, a certain blue haired king stood regal in his daily uniform, giving instructions to his commanders.

Mikoto could feel his Aura leaped in excitement inside him, raging like awakened fire storm. His hands itched for an exhilarating fight against the blue king. He would have jumped to strike Reishi in that instant if not for Anna still tugging on his sleeve. For some reason, Anna looked solemn and shook her head, for once refusing him to go to his battle. Mikoto stared at her for a minute and sighed in defeat. He could understand what she wanted from him without exchanging words. The little strain probably asked him to keep his composure for once and talked in civil manner with the other king. He had missed his chance to pick a fight with Munakata anyway, since the other man had noticed his presence and dismissed his subordinates from their quick briefing.

"It's rare to see you in the city, Munakata. I almost think you never leave your office," said Mikoto with a sneer. As a response, Munakata gave him business-like smile, retorted back while fixing his glasses, "Good afternoon, Suoh Mikoto. Would there be a calamity in the near future for you to stop being lazy for once?" Despite his usual remark, the violet eyes showed the mixture of relief, joy and...longing? Mikoto was not sure about the latter, but there certainly was difference. Anna's face was expressionless, and she was standing still like a statue, as if anchoring him to that site to make him talk to the blue king.

However, what stayed between them was nothing more than awkward silence. None of them initiated a small talk. Usually they would banter and waged verbal war before it turned into physical. But today Munakata did not look like he would put up a good fight even if Mikoto started one. All he could see in those blue eyes was prolonged weariness and silent plea for a truce. He had never seen such exhausted Munakata, even if his underlings failed to see the hints because his Munakata was always excellent at hiding his vulnerability. Seeing the other king in such state made his previous enthusiasm fading. Now he could only feel concern for the other man. The only one time he witnessed the Blue King in such state was when he heard that one of his subordinates died protecting him and this time Munakata appeared much worse compared to back then. It made him wonder what he had lost this time.

To be honest, it made him sort of jealous. Of what, he did not know. After all, he did not know anything of Munakata's anxiety. That man only opened up a little after their occasional spontaneous sex session and Mikoto was not one to meddle with other's business. That was how their little affair went on. He was not one to put romance and business on same page, so was Munakata and the latter seemed content that way.

"Is something going to happen?" A little soft voice finally broke the silence.

Both men stared down at the little silver-haired girl. Her ruby eyes glittered in scrutiny. Reishi huffed a little bit and bowed down a little to answer her on the same eye level, "Nothing you have to worry about. This is just a regular investigation."

Anna was quiet while her eyes remained fixed on Reishi's, as if knowing that he was lying.

Reishi did not even bat an eye at the question. He had known the future that would occur on tomorrow night; all the details of Totsuka's death. Tomorrow night on full moon high in the clear sky, while carrying his newly purchased camera, Totsuka would climb up to the roof of this building where he would encounter the Colorless King. Reishi would like to think it as coincidental, that the Colorless King was just simply waiting for Silver King's ship to pass him by and Totsuka just incidentally met him during the wait. But the more he thought about it, the Colorless King must have planned it out. He must have calculated that the most naïve of HOMRA members would come on that tallest building in Shizume City to enjoy the night view of the city like usual and that building was on the route of Weismann's airship. He needed a sacrifice to inflict rage inside HOMRA, to make them blinded with vengeance and exhaust themselves with unnecessary wars, to weaken HOMRA. Totsuka Tatara was the best candidate. He was the weakest, friendliest member of HOMRA, while he was also close to every member of Red Clan, especially to Mikoto, Kusanagi and Anna. Following that plan, the Colorless King intended to push the murder charge on Weismann, creating inflict between Red King and Silver King. It was all to possess Suoh Mikoto and gained his power. If he got lucky, he could even take the first immortal King's power.

It would be low probability for him to be able to prevent Totsuka's encounter with Colorless King. Even if he could prevent the amber-colored head from entering the premise that night by force, there was high possibility that the Colorless King would still carry on his plan, and commit murder next time. If he failed to capture or kill Colorless King on this one chance, it would not matter whether he could save Totsuka or not. The evil king without doubt would play dirty to find another chance to kill and his ability would assist him well in carrying it out and Reishi could not possibly predict where and when he would attack since he could not read future. There was no way they could protect Totsuka 24/7 either against a King. It was the best to go offensive instead of defensive for this matter. Reishi would let Totsuka be the bait for Colorless King and he would interfere their meeting. The Colorless King would not have considered the third party perturbing him so early of his plan since he would think that no one knew about his status as a newly crowned wild king.

Anna looked like she was waiting for his truthful answer, but Reishi did not even give away a hint. The less HOMRA knew, the better. Instead he pulled back and stood straight so Anna would have to look up to see his face. The sunlight obscured her sight, so she could not see blue king's expression clearly. The Captain fluently lied, "As I said, nothing will happen. You don't have to worry about anything. Scepter 4 is only checking out the nearby premises on regular basis."

Mikoto watched Munakata wearily as he spoke with Anna. Something was completely off. He fought back the urge to make Munakata spill out whatever that secret which seemed to be quite important for him to guard. It ticked him off. He knew the other guy was a sly man, considering his achievement in politic in such short time and sometimes he admired that side of him. But he despised whenever Munakata used his manipulating skill on him, trying to mislead him for whatever reason to keep him in the dark. The Blue King always argued that it was all for HOMRA (he never said it was to protect him since he knew Suoh would not accept it), but he did not like being deceived. He wanted to punch the blue-haired king to remind him not to underestimate him; that he could protect his own clansmen and Munakata was being a busybody unnecessarily. But he could not involve Anna when she was in the middle of King's fight. Anna seemed understanding as well for Blue King's action, which she did not pursue for the answer anymore. If Anna thought that they should let Munakata be, he would respect her judgment this time. Mikoto clicked his tongue and turned on his heels irritated, leaving the other King alone before his patience completely dried out.

Anna bowed slightly in respect and trailed behind Suoh in hurry. Reishi did not move an inch as he stared at the backs which slowly blended and vanished among the pedestrians. He sighed quite loudly and just noticed that he had been holding on his breath for quite some time. Kushina Anna had a terrifying power as a strain. No wonder she was once chosen to be the artificial candidate of Blue King years ago. If she took out her red marbles before to read his thought, he would have no choice but to stop her with his Aura which would probably lead into a fight with Suoh and destroy the public facility again. He felt cornered whenever she gazed into his eyes as if she was plunging down into his soul and reading him like an open book. Such feeling made him vulnerable. Fixing his glasses, he chuckled ironically at him being afraid of a little girl.

Despite the awkward moment back then, he could not deny that he felt forgotten happiness bubbling inside him after meeting Suoh, alive and annoying like usual. After the death of Red King, he still remembered his indifference face and his voice in his regular nightmares. Nonetheless, Reishi started to forget his little smile or his rough touch on his skin as the time passed by. The only remaining memories were the mad King after the death of his loved one and the last moment of Suoh's life. They kept playing in his head like a broken record like a punishment for his failure. Dreamless nights were a luxury for him ever since Ashinaka's incident.

He had tried to forget Suoh altogether to move on, because it was futile to remember a dead person. However, since it was in his personality that he could never forgive his failure, he stopped attempting to forget because he knew it was impossible to do while he kept beating himself up over his disappointment. As an alternative, Reishi searched in his memories for happier ones with Suoh, but whenever he tried to recall them, they were hastily replaced by the time when Suoh rejected his stretched hand. After a year, his mind was numb from the nightmares and he only felt hollow on waking up after restless nights.

The Blue King was grateful for this one chance to remember again what kind of man Suoh was when he was still with his happy family and his Sword of Damocles was not in shambles. He could despise Suoh for being stubborn and insensitive when hurt, but he also loved to see Suoh's expression as he was surrounded by his clansmen.

If only the Colorless King did not destroy this tranquility…Back then he did not even give much appreciation for what they had.

A little smile appeared on his lips without him realizing and he also turned around and returned to HQ. There was no way he would waste this second chance. No more nights of lament, Reishi solemnly swore to himself.

* * *

After they walked quite a distance away from Munakata, Anna extended her hand timidly and cautiously tugged on the end of Mikoto's black jacket sleeve. Mikoto slowed down his pace and glanced down at Anna for a while before he took out his right hand from his pocket and grabbed Anna's hand. The little strain blushed slightly with happiness radiating from her petite face. They were walking in comfortable silence in the sea of human with blaring sounds of car horns and people talking in the background before Anna suddenly commented, "He looks like a man going to a war…"

That stopped his feet from moving. Mikoto understood who she was mentioning about. He involuntarily turned around to find a certain blue-haired man, although it was impossible for him to see him at such distance. Anna whispered quietly, waiting patiently, "Do you want to look for him, Mikoto?" Her other pale hand reached out for her marbles hidden in her dress. If Mikoto wished for it, she would use her power to locate the Blue King. It would not be difficult to find him with his immense power and presence using her ability.

Mikoto remained still and the silver-haired strain simply waited. She was still young, and she wondered if that was why she could not comprehend why Mikoto would not go back to Blue King if he was concerned or why Mikoto would not keep walking on if he did not care.

* * *

"Fushimi, can you hear me?" Reishi put on a communication device to his ear, adjusting it so he could hear clearly the recipient's voice. Fushimi muttered defiantly something like, 'of course, you are in front of my face.' Seri gave the younger commander a glare and pinched his arm painfully as a warning for his insolence.

He did not reveal much about today's mission to his clansmen. He partially lied to them that he had received information from Gold King that the seventh King may appear on a building and they had to observe whether this new king was a wild card or not. To lower the casualty risk, the Captain only took Seri and Fushimi to observe the rooftop from distance while a group of three man would wait on a car on a bridge not far from the building. If the seventh King was to make his appearance, Reishi would go alone investigating since only a King could contain the other King. He could not risk his clansmen to be possessed by Colorless King as well by going with him.

"Sir, I still think it would be best if we accompany you. It will be dangerous if…" Seri started to repeat their argument all over again ever since he explained today's arrangement, but this time the Blue King put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly instead of trying to reason with her.

"Our opponent might be a King and if that is true, he could easily overpower you. As a King, we should be on same level, and my power would be enough to protect myself. We should lessen the risk however possible, right?" He gave her his best charming smile which always worked on her. "After all, I still have you watching my back."

Her face was grim. She knew she was not weak, being able to be second commander of Scepter 4. She understood that only a King could put up on same ground with the other King, since they were granted with power beyond human or strain could have. Nevertheless, she still felt frustrated for being helpless to assist her King. She would still feel worry. Her King was too kind; he often concerned about others more than himself. What if the new King was a bad guy who would take advantage over Munakata's benevolence and hurt him? Nonetheless, she replied him with a weak smile, seeing that she definitely could not change his mind. "Captain, please be careful."

Reishi nodded calmly and whirled around to observe the rooftop across the building he remained standby in the shadow. It was an hour before midnight. If he was not in a mission, he would spend time admiring the breathtaking night view. The stars glittered weakly in the night sky, paled by city lights which shone brightly to the distant horizon. The city was like a black pitch sea with glittering tiny lights reflected on its surface. The gentle wind blew through his skin and strands of his hair, giving him a pleasant chill. So this sight was the present which Totsuka had wished to pass to Kushina Anna, however he did not succeed. It was indeed a beautiful present worth for a precious someone.

Several meters behind him hidden by the white wall connected to rooftop exit door, Seri waited beside Fushimi with her binoculars anxiously. Fushimi clicked his tongue in annoyance and whispered to her rather rudely, "Nothing bad will happen. He is a King, remember? He is not stupid enough to get even a scratch by a newbie. So could you stop fidgeting? I can't concentrate." Seri grumbled indignantly but she did stop fidgeting.

Just when they stopped talking, suddenly the exit door on the rooftop across their current building was opened. Reishi held his breath for a while and gasped once he saw the familiar silver-haired boy from his hiding spot. He looked young, around seventeen with short silver hair end on his nape, glistening under the soft moonlight. Wearing a middle school uniform, he looked just like a normal student. However, without doubt, he was the ruthless Colorless King. No matter how he looked, a student strayed to the rooftop of a building in the middle of the night was suspicious. The young man checked out his watch and looked up at the night sky, as if observing or waiting for something. It was not difficult to Reishi to grasp what the other man was waiting for. _He must be waiting for Himmelreich_.

Fushimi whispered through the wireless ear piece, breaking his trance, "Captain? Should we capture him?"

Without leaving his eyes on the suspected Colorless King, Reishi ordered, "Remain standby. We will observe him for now." His heart started to drum fast with anticipation for intense battle within an hour. His adrenalin rushed through his body as he rested his left hand still on the tilt of his Tenrou as he waited for the moment to strike. Colorless King was a King who was able to create such tragedy and two Kings were sacrificed just to put out his life. He could not underestimate his opponent, let alone to lower his guard. Scepter 4 waited patiently and quietly, seizing the enemy from distance. Minutes felt like agonizing hours. The Colorless King leaned to the railing when he kept gazing up to the empty sky. Reishi was slightly surprised when he suddenly heard the opponent's humming voice. The voice drifted in the wind as he sang that Ode to Joy repeatedly.

"Captain?" A familiar voice with slight static sound in the background startled him. "A young man is going to a building across yours. I believe he is Totsuka Tatara from HOMRA. Should we reprimand him?"

Reishi closed his eyes for a moment after hearing Akiyama's report. _So the time has come._

"No, let him be. No need to be alarmed."

* * *

Tatara excitedly climbed up the stairs to the rooftop, ignoring the pain of exhausted muscles on both of his legs, with his new camera in his embrace. He had been planning on giving this brilliant present to Anna for weeks. It would be great if he could show more and more beautiful scenes to Anna, who could not enjoy the beauty of color spectrums without her marbles. That little girl with sad past deserved to have much more beautiful memories in her life. For a start, he would show her the magnificent night view of this beloved city. For the upcoming birthdays, he would record more spectacular view the world had much to offer. Maybe the view of first sunlight on New Year would be perfect. If Anna wished for it, they should all go together and enjoyed the view with their own eyes like a family trip. He still had so much things to do, to show her how beautiful the world they were in.

He was about to reach the rooftop after a long, excruciating flights of stair and when his hand reached out for the doorknob of exit door, he could hear a humming voice coming from outdoor. The song was melancholic but beautiful to his ears. This present could not be better. He should ask the singer to let him recording his singing while taking the picture of the city lights. Anna would love this!

Excited, Tatara stepped out the door and turned on his camera, preparing to record video. Being friendly, he started to greet the stranger while recording.

"Hey, it's a nice night out." He started innocently, "I came out here to take pictures of the night time view. What are you doing out here?" He thought that it was terribly impolite to ask someone's name without telling his, so he did. But the other man simply laughed without even turning around to look at him. The golden head wondered what he had done that the latter would make fun of him. Before he could even finish his question asking for the student's name, that boy whirled around and there was a loud bang sound breaking the silence.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, he found himself sprawling on the floor and the camera had fallen from his hand not far from where he had slipped. Tatara snapped out from shock and remembered that there was a gunshot and that stranger attempted to kill him. From such close range, he should have been wounded somewhere and bled, but somehow he could not feel any pain.

As he looked up to see what had happened, blue color filled his view. "Munakata…no, Blue King?" All he could see was the back of Reishi's uniform in front of him.

Reishi sighed in relief as he made in time to jump across in the air using his power to make platforms to the rooftop where Colorless King were and sliced through the bullet with his beloved Tenrou before it could hit Totsuka. He stood tall in front of Totsuka, and how he wished he could take a picture of Colorless King's current expression; dumbfounded like a fool. Revenge was so sweet; he was more than pleased to be able to erase that laughing face from Colorless King's face.

"What…?! How could this…!?" The young student stuttered in shock. He thought he was all alone in this place, and there would be no one coming up here except for him and Tatara at such hour. And now, not only he failed to kill the red clan member to provoke HOMRA, there was a witness for his felony and for worse, he was none but the Blue King. Isana had assumed that none of the kings should have known the identity of new Colorless King since he had never introduced himself. Then there was no logical explanation how the Blue King had known his plan in advance. His presence was also anything but coincidence. He would have no reason to come to the rooftop of a random building fully prepared for battle, if he did not intend to intercept him. Furthermore, the regal man in front of him was in his battle stance with determination flaring in his eyes and a hint of hatred. There was no doubt that the Blue King intended to arrest him with everything he got. Yashiro was completely confused at the sudden turn of event. Did the blue king possess the power of divination?

He started to sweat profusely and laughed weakly as he stepped back reluctantly. Fear started to creep on his heart. His plan to be the sole and strongest King of all was still on early stage. He had not even started anything much! If he got caught here, not only his dream was destroyed, he probably would not have a future. He might be jailed for the rest of his life. What a joke of life it would be.

His heart ran wild. How could he, who was still a chick as a King, defeat a mature one? Moreover, the Blue King was still in his prime condition. He could see clearly that in term of power or experience, he was much inferior. Luckily, the other King should have not known his awesome ability to possess and he was quite good at tricking people. There was still a chance for him to even eat the Blue Aura.

He should at first possess Totsuka Tatara so the Blue King would hesitate to harm him and then he would torture the arrogant man to weaken him. When the latter could not put up much fight, he would then devour the Blue King and become more powerful! That should work well. At that thought, his tremble ceased slightly and he smirked maliciously at the men in front of him.

Reishi frowned at the ruthless king and easily figured out what the other would do when he was in a bind. Without looking back at Totsuka, he pushed the brown-haired man back lightly with his back and said in cold tone, "Totsuka Tatara, close your eyes, and don't open them until I order you. Hide somewhere." It would be good if he could cover Totsuka until the other man made his escape through the exit door. But to escape, he would have to open his eyes, and thus there was a high risk for Yashiro possessing Totsuka Tatara. The younger man tilted his head in confusion but he obeyed instantly and closed his eyes tightly as he scurried back to the corner of the rooftop slowly as far as he could.

Once again, Colorless King was flabbergasted. Not only the Blue King had known his entire plan for tonight, he also seemed to understand how his power worked. His palms started sweating as well, and his hand trembled hard. He had a difficult time to grip his gun properly.

"There is no way this is happening!" The silver-haired boy yelled in frustration as he raised his gun straight at Reishi. "Who are you?!" The Blue King did not budge from his spot in between Colorless King and Totsuka Tatara. How could he win a war when he had known nothing about his enemy while the opponent had the knowledge about him, including his strategy and his ability?

He could not investigate much beforehand about Scepter 4 because too much information was classified and the Blue King himself rarely made his appearance in public unless necessary. It was difficult to plan his move when he did not even have a glimpse what kind of man the Blue King, in contrary to predictable Red King. He intended to force him out and make him reveal the true extent of blue power after the death of Totsuka, because without doubt Scepter 4 would dispatch their King whenever the Red King was on rampage along with his clan. It would also work if Red and Blue Clan fought and weakened each other so he could eat both of the Auras.

However, he began feeling uncertain if he could see that future. For now, he should make his escape. But even making it into reality seemed to be quite difficult. His survival instinct started to kick in and his eyes quickly averted to the exit door and ran toward it. Reishi did not waste his time to hunt down the Colorless King and attacked straight at Yashiro before he could even get close to the exit door. The next second, his blade made a loud clanging sound as it struck the steel gun which Yashiro used as his shield to block the slash. Yashiro attempted to resist as Reishi pushed down his blade against the gun closer to his head. The Colorless King swiftly swung his left leg to make the older king lose his balance, but Reishi gracefully evaded it by stepping back without losing his stance.

The young student threw an upward punch using his available hand but before it connected to Reishi's jaw, he pushed back the smaller man using sheer force, making Yashiro stumbling back. Yashiro was furious as he could see only defeat that he started to lose his head. He was having a hard time to even defend himself while his opponent did not even break a sweat. His breathing was labor as panic which now fully controlled him drained his stamina out much faster. Even a child could see how this fight would end. He gritted his teeth and seethed angrily.

"Surrender yourself, Colorless King." The Blue King began talking, and fixed his glasses with his left hand. "If you do, I will make sure your punishment for murder attempt will be lighter."

"No!" He shouted as he shot his gun at Reishi's head twice as he made way to the exit door. The latter chased him down and simply lifted his left hand to raise a transparent blue wall in front of him to defend himself against the bullets and thrust his sword to Yashiro's left leg. The Colorless King yelped in pain and without waiting, Reishi kicked hard the student on the stomach away from the door. Yashiro was thrown to the edge of the rooftop and his back hit the railing hard. He coughed a little blood at the impact and wheezed slightly. Yashiro tumbled weakly as he tried to stand up with a hand covering his bleeding wound while the other hand which held the gun used the railing to support his weight. He screamed in dread when his eyes watched the sight of crimson color streaming down profusely from his left leg.

The young lad glared at him before tears started to swell in his eyes, screaming like a threatened animal, "Liar! You will put me in jail for the rest of my life, won't you?! You bastard!" He sniffed and wailed even harder. However, there was no sympathy in Reishi's eyes. He only stared down with bored look and waited for the enemy to make his move. He had seen more than enough what the other man could do and what kind of man he truly was. If Yashiro thought that the Blue King would pity him and lower his guard over such false tears, he was utterly mistaken. He would not waste compassion on such a trickster.

Reishi exhaled in relief. Now he only had to detain this abominable existence and peace would return again to Shizume City. Considering how wounded the other man was, and how he could not put up much fight against him, it would not be quite difficult to immobilize him. Even if Yashiro tried to possess him, he was too weak to devour Reishi's consciousness. In such pathetic state, he could repel Yashiro's possession ability, although it would give the young man a chance to escape. But with the blood loss and wounded leg, he would not make it far. Scepter 4 could easily disable and catch him. He threatened with the tip of his sword just an inch away from Yashiro's porcelain neck, "Give it up. Or else you are more than welcomed to jump from this height if you dare."

Seri sighed as her heart finally calmed down. She was alarmed when she heard the gunshot, although her inner heart told her to trust her captain. Their King was quite powerful; his power was told to have the highest defense among all Kings. For that reason, his sapphire barrier could deflect against Red King's firestorm equally. Due to its vast defense attribute, the Blue Aura did not have much variety skill for attack, but captain's fighting skill with sword was peerless and compensated well for Blue Aura's lack of offensive attribute. She could hear Fushimi's sigh faintly and smiled at him. Fushimi might be rude and tactless toward Captain, but he was still concerned about his King even though he pretended he did not. Fushimi did not pay attention to Seri, as his eyes fixed on the target through the scope of his rifle. His assistance might not be needed, but until his captain's return, he would stay vigilant. There were so many questions swirling in his head though as he listened to Munakata's conversation on the across rooftop through the ear piece. How could he be so sure that the other guy was the Colorless King? How did he know that student will shot Totsuka? Why did he ask Totsuka to close his eyes? His eyes widen in surprise as he saw a figure moving behind his captain.

* * *

"Don't you think that's enough, Munakata-san? I think he feels guilty already." Tatara tapped Reishi's tense shoulder cautiously. He could not bear listening to that painful cry and ignore it, even if that boy almost killed him. Most of HOMRA's members were around this student's age. Ignoring this man felt like he was overlooking his friends' cry and his heart felt wistful.

Reishi whirled around his head in shock. He had told him to stay still until he was done with this ruthless king, but Totsuka had disobeyed it. Yashiro smirked, thanking whatever deity for such opportunity. He did not waste any second of it and his eyes were on Totsuka's. In a blink of eye, his spirit claimed Totsuka's body.

Yashiro's body went limp on the floor while Totsuka's body shook hard. It was not hard for Reishi to understand the current situation. Now the Colorless King had turned the table. Instinctively the Blue King attempted to pin down the amber-haired man with his own body. However, the latter swiftly moved aside and grabbed for Yashiro's gun. When Reishi turned around his head, a gun was cocked on Totsuka's head side and the member of red clan was on the edge of railing. The situation had turned into the worst scenario.

"HAHAHA! What a fool! However, if he is not being stupid, I will have no chance to overturn this situation." Totsuka laughed madly in a low voice, which was obviously not his. He sniggered for a minute before he calmed down and exclaimed. "Now it's my turn. Let me possess you or I will kill this man."

Seri nearly screamed before she stopped herself by covering her mouth with her hands. Fushimi gawked at sudden turn of event and his finger on rifle trigger trembled. Was that boy who was possibly a Colorless King saying that he was able to possess other people? Moreover, did he just now take possession of Totsuka and try to take over his captain too? Should he pull the trigger and shoot Totsuka for his King? Or should he wait to see if Captain could overpower him once again? He decided that the safety of Blue King and Shizume City was much more important than a member of HOMRA who was pretty much acceptable in his book and he was about to pull the trigger when Seri's hand lowered his rifle. She whispered angrily at him, "What are you doing?! You might hit Captain!" Fushimi clicked his tongue at her and angrily snapped in low voice, "Are you waiting until that man takes seize over Captain? Do you have any idea what will happen if he manages to take over Captain's body?!" Seri looked quite distressed before she lifted her hand silently and gave him a hesitant nod. Fushimi gave her a short glance before he refocused his aligning device to his target.

* * *

Reishi's mind was in a storm. If he allowed such a man possess his body, only Heaven knew what kind of calamity he would bring. In contrary, if he killed Totsuka by his sword, he only repeated the future he had known once again, except for this time, Suoh would hate him to his guts and exerted all his fire to kill Blue King. Even if he managed to kill Totsuka, he would simply escape to Yashiro's body unless he killed that one too. Either way, nothing good came out of it. Was there really no other way to change the future? Was Suoh's death truly inevitable event? From distant, he could see Fushimi aiming for Totsuka. How could he let his commander's hand stained by blood of such a king? He could not let him be the target of Suoh Mikoto's misdirected wrath either.

The Colorless King in Totsuka's body lowered his body to look at Reishi's face mockingly. "Come on, I don't have all day. Give me your Aura!"

The Blue King closed his eyes in regret and sheathed his sword slowly. Being possessed, Totsuka laughed merrily while still planted mouth of the gun on his head. "Finally you are mine!" The fox spirit was about to channel his spirit to the Blue King when Reishi lunged forward and pulled Totsuka over the railing along with him in his embrace. He could hear the distant scream of his female commander, but he paid no heed to it. Reishi simply smiled as they fell down together from the top of the building, whispering to Totsuka's ear. "If you have to take me, I will prefer to take you to hell with me."

The Colorless King was too scared to death that he started to attack brashly. Panic reflected on Totsuka's eyes and he suddenly emptied his gun on Reishi's chest and stomach at close distance. The Blue King was not able to bring forth his barrier in time at the sudden assault. His grip on Totsuka loosened accidentally and the younger man fell below him. He coughed blood with closed eyes but still unperturbedly suggested, "If you don't want to die, leave that body this instance."

In a blink of eye, the fox spirit took flight back to Yashiro's body in hurry. Reishi warily opened his eyes and saw that they were not far from the ground. He called forth his barriers to act as platforms to cushion their fall but they instantly vanished as he coughed a lot of blood because of the wounds on his chest. The Blue King tried to grab Totsuka, who was unconscious, ignoring the excruciating pain on his wounds but he was beyond his reach. He tried to summon his last energy to recreate those platforms but they only managed to cushion their bodies for a while before those barriers once again disappeared as the darkness completely filled his consciousness. Instinctively protective, Reishi held the other man in his arms before he completely slipped out of his consciousness, using his body to cushion the fall as they continued to fall from just about the third floor of the building.

From the rooftop, Yashiro quickly woke up and looked down to the building ground. Both of the bodies were on the ground motionless in the middle of red pool. He was furious. Tomorrow, HOMRA would find out about the death of Totsuka, and the death of Captain of Scepter 4 who was the perpetrator. With this, the HOMRA would not be enraged, but they would only grieve since they could not have their revenge with Blue King being deceased. This meant that he could not create conflict between Red King and Silver King, let alone Red King and Blue King.

When he was about to pull his hairs in frustration, something caught his interest in the corner of his eyes. He stared at Totsuka's video camera from distant. Yes, he should leave a message that he was the mastermind of this incident. When HOMRA got the message, they would hunt down the boy called Yashiro Isana. If this went on according to his plan, he could still create war between Red Clan and Silver King. He limped as he made way to take the camera, but before he could even get close, a bullet hit his left arm. Yashiro was stunned for a moment before he cried out in pain. Tears streamed down from his eyes and he groaned in annoyance. He turned his head to find the sniper's location and he could see the glint of steel from across rooftop. However, before he could identify the hit man clearly, another bullet had scraped his leg. Without wasting his time, he made his escape to the exit.

* * *

"Tsk…he ran away." Fushimi grumbled as he put aside the rifle and grabbed for his sword. Awashima had rushed down the stairs, while calling for emergency aid before him to see if they still could save their King. Looking at the situation, he was almost convinced that there was no way for even a Blue King to survive. But a little part of him could not stop wishing that there was still a hope. However, in contrary to Awashima's action, he preferred to stay there and kill that mastermind to revenge his captain than foolishly hoped that his King was still alive and let the murderer slipping away. That King was like a rat though, he was fast at running away. Even if that man was wounded, once he got out of the building and blended in with people in the city, he could easily possess other people and make his escape. Considering the distance between these buildings, he could not make it in time to capture the supposedly Colorless King.

Fushimi stopped his track in the middle of stairs and punched the nearest wall hard until his hand bled. He did not understand why, but he felt so much anguish that it was crushing him from inside.

* * *

The road was loud with the wailing sound of ambulance serene and all of the Scepter 4 members were inside the police yellow line with grief-stricken face. On the side of building ground, there was a pool of blood. Many pedestrians stopped on their track, wondering if someone had just committed suicide. Among those passing strangers, a pair of aquamarine observed the commotion from distance and a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Is this not another tragedy, Blue King? I wonder if you are satisfied…"


	4. Revelation

Disclaimer: Writing this line always brings the most anguish in my life as fanfic writer…sob. K project is not mine, okay?

Note: Totally forgot to update here...*kneels on the floor*

* * *

 

" _Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to._ " - **Mitch Albom**

 

* * *

 

"Tatara, we're so glad you are okay!" A chorus echoed in the white room filled with antiseptic smell. The members of HOMRA mostly were in the small room, flocking around a bed with pristine white cover. The man sitting on the bed was smiling without care to his wounds. Both of his legs and chest were wrapped by bandage and casts. His right hand was immobilized by an arm sling. Despite his condition, he still had his typical airy aura around him as if he was not hurt at all. "Thanks for coming. Is Anna coming with you?"

A little girl in her crimson dress came through the mass of HOMRA members to get close to the single bed in the room. Her eyes were red and there were black circles around her eyes. Totsuka felt a tremendous guilt for ever making the birthday girl having that awful face in her supposedly happy day. She must have stayed in the hospital and stayed awake all night during his operation though yesterday was supposed to be her birthday. Not exactly how someone would love to spend their birthday; he ruined her big day, to be exact.

Yesterday should have been different. All the HOMRA members should be in the bar, circling around the birthday cake as the girl blew the candles on strawberry cake. Then they would all clap merrily and scramble for the first cake, although without doubt Anna would hand it to Mikoto. He would be on the background, taking photos of their happy memories like usual. And then they would give her presents, and encourage her to open the gifts right away. Some of them were probably not appropriate to give to a girl on her age. When all the red clansmen were too tired having a loud party, they would all sleep on the bar floor carelessly with Anna in the middle of the room. Their King would probably go out for a smoke, enjoying the silence after a deafening day along with him and Kusanagi. Yet nothing went out as planned.

He smiled sadly at her and opened his left arm widely, "I'm sorry, Anna. You don't have to worry anymore."

Anna sniffed softly and stood still for a while before she sprung at the patient in silent tears, while being careful not to hurt him. Totsuka embraced her tightly and patted her in the back gently like a father would do and kissed her forehead. The other members of HOMRA also sniffed at the sight and some burst into tears. "You fool! Don't do that anymore! We heard that you were dead for falling from a building; we are so devastated!"

The amber-head man only laughed softly and waved his unhurt hand flippantly, "Well, I obviously will prefer not to experience it again, because it's really painful. The doctors told me to stay in the bed for a whole week because of the healing fractures. Can you imagine how boring it would be?"

Yata yelled out in frustration, pinpointing his finger at the other man out of rage. "That should be your last thing to worry! Damn you, you should be glad that you are still breathing!"

"Yeah, you're right…" He tried to smile brightly, although his eyes were clouded with worry.

He did not remember much about the night on the rooftop. He remembered he met a boy and almost got killed by a stranger, who was too young to be a criminal. And then there was the Blue King protecting him from that killer somehow. He remembered that Munakata being rough and easily overwhelmed the other man and when that young student cried for mercy, he remembered asking the Blue King for showing leniency. After that, there was a big blank in his memories. When he was conscious, he was on the hospital bed with horrible pain all over his body. His body was like a ragged doll, bandaged everywhere. The doctors told him that he fell from a building and miraculously only got away with scrapes and fractures on his legs, right arm and some of his ribs. Well, that was a lot of fractures and pain, but he guessed he should be grateful. Totsuka wondered what had happened to that student and Blue King though. He had not heard anything about them, not even in the news. He actually felt anxious, no news meant something big was being covered in the dark by government, and that usually was bad news.

He shook his head and tried to find out what had happened after him being unconscious. The Red King probably would know something. "So, where is King?"

Kusanagi scratched his head and shrugged, "He left just after you wake up. I think he just want to go somewhere alone to check out on something."

Totsuka looked to the exit door, and simply grinned. It would be great if his King could make up with Blue King. Maybe he should ask him to deliver his thanks to the Blue King. He had saved him from getting shot to dead after all. Since Mikoto somehow encountered the Blue King much more than coincidence would allow, so they must knew the others' ritual intuitively and met each other pretty often. He would absolutely go to Scepter 4 HQ when he was discharged from the hospital to thank him personally, but asking Mikoto to pass his thanks in advance should be appropriate. Though that should wait until Mikoto's return…For now, he allowed himself to be the center of attention of his friends who seemed like wanting to strangle him for being careless.

* * *

 

After taking a long drag of his smoke, Mikoto walked inside the building where the accident on that night happened, ignoring the yellow police line which obscuring the entrance door. He heard from the rumor that there was a pool of blood on the ground outside the building, but now it was gone. Probably the sight might cause terror for public that the government rapidly cleaned that before the first light of morning arrived. So far, he had no information about the accident. The accident was covered up for some reason, and the evidences were all confiscated. After asking for witnesses, none of them really understood what had happened. No one even saw the victims, since not much people were crossing on that road at such hours. The first witness only said that he saw a lot of Scepter 4 member running around and the victims were already evacuated to the ambulances.

Without realizing, he had arrived at the rooftop where Totsuka had his accident. He frowned as nothing much was remained on the site. Not even a drop of blood was visible. Everything was thoroughly cleaned out. If anyone knew anything about the accident, it would be Scepter 4, since they were the first ones arriving on the accident site, especially Munakata Reishi as their captain. But none of them would talk, even if it cost their lives if Munakata forbid them. He had no choice but to go to those wolves' den and face their king directly.

* * *

 

"Lieutenant, what should we do?" Enomoto started to ramble, horrified. They did not exactly imagine it would come to this.

Seri rubbed her forehead, purely exhausted as her eyes were fixed on the monitor. Among all people, the last person she expected to see would be the Red King and yet he just came to HQ without making appointment or announcement. She sighed, if only Captain was here, he could easily handle Suoh Mikoto so he would leave the premise without leaving much damage. But alas, now she was left on her own demise.

"I will talk to him alone." She turned around and faced her comrades with resolution, "We should not let the classified information to leak out."

The other clansmen brightened a little, though worry never left their faces. No matter how powerful their Lieutenant was, she was still no match to a King. But if this turned to be battle of wits, it would take more effort to take her down. Fushimi clicked his tongue in annoyance as he observed the monitor. It had been at least 15 minutes for the Red King to make his appearance in front of the steel gate of Scepter 4 HQ. An obvious irritation showed in his face, indicating his patience running low. It would be a matter of time before the King of HOMRA summoned his Sword of Damocles.

Seri abruptly rushed to the front gate as fast as her legs could carry her. If she could choose, she would absolutely love to avoid this whole mess and responsibility, but she simply could not neglect her duty. However, the blonde was not even certain if she could contain her emotion in check once she met him. After all, this man had always disgusted her for being impulsive and reckless, and now she had more reason to hate this man. She stopped walking once the mahogany grand door was in front of her, and took a deep breath for a while before her hands reached out for the front door and opened it wide to greet the unwanted guest. Gracefully she strode to the front gate with calm composure, although her heart beat quite fast as if she was in marathon.

"Good day to you, Red King. For what reason do you honor us with your visit?" Her icy smile crooked slightly as she stood behind the black steel gate, which separated her a few meters from her company. She could not mask her negative feeling toward the opponent as well as her Captain, but she was still obliged to behave like a proper civilized public worker and she would do her best to conduct such performance.

Ignoring her slightly hostile greeting, Mikoto bluntly talked to her in commanding tone, "Tell your Captain to get out. I need to talk to him."

Seri was indignant instantly. How dare he to talk to her like that? Even if he threatened to kill her, it would be over her dead body to let him meet Captain without facing resistance. Such barbarian was not worthy of an audience with the regal Blue King. Her eyes flickered with fresh loath and wrath. "What do you want? He is busy for a moment. He does not have time for you."

The Red King raised an eyebrow for her sudden fury. He knew that he was not likeable person and HOMRA had bad chemistry with Scepter 4 since the old days, but this was the first time for Awashima to despise him without reason. That woman had disliked him and always felt disgusted at him for forever, but she never abhorred him to that extent until today. He did not care what the woman had thought about him, but he could sense that he was missing an important piece and this female commander had it in her hands.

"He saved my clansman. Isn't it impolite not to thank him directly?"

"As if you would mind courtesy. He doesn't want to see you right now. Please leave the premise."

He leaned forward to stare at Awashima's eyes threateningly with his hands on his pockets as he sneered. "If he doesn't want to see me, he better tells it on my face."

Awashima was too furious to retort back. Her face was cherry red as she groaned in frustration and tried not to scream out of her lungs angrily. "Captain is currently not present! Please make an appointment and return the other d-..."

Before she could finish her line, a sudden gust of wind pushed her back with heavy force. She barely made it in time to activate her blue shield before a dancing storm of flame attacked her and threw her out of her balance. The blonde coughed as she was sprawled on the ground and the mist of dust surrounded her. Her eyes burned angrily because of the dust. As the wind blew and cleared the view, the half of the front gate of Scepter 4 HQ was nowhere to be found. It was charred into black dust and the Red King walked callously as if he did not just committed a crime for trespassing and attempting of harming people. He stood arrogantly in front of Seri, who was still on the ground, blocking the sunlight as he leaned slightly forward, "I ask you again. Tell your Captain to get his ass down here right now or tomorrow he would not even see his office anymore."

She gazed up beyond the head of Mikoto and gulped nervously as a magnificent Sword of Damocles appeared on top of them. The Red King was serious to take down the whole building if it would get him the information he wanted. The Lieutenant shuddered slightly. She could not let such dangerous man near her Captain, but she also could not allow the red-haired man to destroy what her Captain had achieved with all his hard works for years. It took him quite an amount of time, energy and resources to bring Scepter 4 to its present glory and she had watched him by his side during those difficult times.

Considering the power of Red King, her shield seemed petty and she was too helpless against him. She could not even defend herself properly against previous one hit; this was obviously a losing battle. Nevertheless, what should she do in such dire situation?

Mikoto lost all his patience. He knew that they tried to stall him to buy time, but he could no longer wait idly. He still had to return to Tatara's place and checked on him if he kept himself out of danger for once. He gathered his Aura, threatening to blow the place into pieces, ignoring the horrified look on Seri's face.

"He is not here. Even if we want to call him, we can't."

The red Aura dissipated slowly as Mikoto turned his head to see the third party who had intercepted him from blowing up the place. He recognized that sardonic voice easily though.

Fushimi made long strides to Seri's side and pull her right arm to help her standing up. Instead of showing her gratitude, she snapped to her third-in-commander. "Fushimi! Why did you tell him?!"

The young soldier looked unfazed at her anger, and glanced to her before putting some sense into this overly devoted woman. "It does not help anyone if he burns down this whole place. What do we gain from keeping secret from him after we lose the HQ? He will still somehow find out anyway." Seri looked down dejectedly, half-heartedly understood that her commander was making a good call, since they did not stand a chance against a King and his wish. She just could not accept that fact yet.

Fushimi then directed his eyes on the Red King impertinently and retorted, "Just like barbarians, you guys always use forces to get what you want." He did not intend to provoke the opponent, but he could not stop himself for not insulting the King of HOMRA. Mikoto did not make any move, but waiting patiently, although his Sword of Damocles still dangled ominously above the HQ.

"So where is he?"

Fushimi clicked his tongue and snorted, "Ask the Gold King. Captain is with him."

Mikoto tilted his head, and started to conceal his Sword of Damocles. "Why?"

The third commander scoffed as he whirled around, pulling Seri away from the Red King with him to the inside of the building. "If you really want to know, why don't you find out yourself?"

* * *

 

"You finally come." The wise man in his retired age said, as he sat across him. Daikaku wore his moss-colored kimono, with a paper fan on his hand. Despite his old age and wisdom, his eyes still mesmerized people with his idealism and charisma he had possessed since his young age. When Mikoto came to the restricted building, the rabbit guards were trying to chase him off, but they could not compete with his Aura. Before he could make one of the chambers disappeared without trace, Daikaku snapped his fan and made his appearance, effectively stopping the Red King from his destruction. Before long, he invited the other man to the room where he usually held tea ceremony.

The tea room was spacious, furnished by straw mat and seat pillows for tea ceremony on it. The sliding paper door was painted by mostly gold colors with cranes on the pine trees and peonies. Even the pillars were painted with gold dragons circling around to the roof. For Mikoto, such interior did not even fascinate him as he only thought of one thing for a moment.

He directly confronted the second King, "Where is the Blue King?"

Daikaku folded his hands in front of him and stared into the gold eyes, "Why would you seek him here? Are you a friend or a foe?"

"Stop talking riddles. I know that he is here for a reason. I need to see him."

"I have to determine your intention. What do you seek from him?"

If anything, Mikoto really disliked having an audience with the oldest Kings, though he never met Silver King. They loved to ask in circle as if toying with his mind and distracting him from the original purpose of his visit. His Aura flickered out of annoyance, and the Gold King did not get offended for his automatic response, but without doubt the previous Colonel was on his guard.

"I need to ask him the truth of that night; what has happened that time to my Clansman."

Daikaku was quiet for a minute before he finally spoke up with the tone of finality, "You cannot gain anything from him right now. Return for now."

Slamming the straw mat with his hand, Mikoto stood up abruptly and challenged him to make him leave the building. "I'm not leaving until I see him. Bring the Blue King here."

The Gold King shook his head lightly and followed his lead to stand up. "I cannot. Your demand is not viable." He snapped his fan and turned his back on HOMRA's leader, walking slowly out of the chamber. "But if you insist to see him, come with me." Mikoto was confused; why did everyone say as if the Blue King could not move from his current location? Was he being imprisoned? It would not make sense though, since the violet-eyes King loved order and justice more than anything, even himself. He would probably the last man on Earth to commit a crime with pure wicked intention.

He trailed behind the Gold King warily and they did not talk as they walked down the hallway to the top floor of the building. The layout of the building was like a maze, and the hallway was narrow, built with woods and paper doors. After a long winding path, with lots of rabbit guards along the way and advanced security devices, they finally arrived on a blindingly white chamber, filled with smell of antiseptics and drugs. A few people on white coat with a mask on their face roamed around the room, taking notes on their observation chart. Without doubt, this facility was especially made for people with high authorities. Mikoto wondered curiously as why the Gold King would lead him to this room, when his eyes straightforwardly landed on the sole patient in the chamber. His eyes widened at what he saw.

There he was, lying on the bed, isolated from the outside world by a transparent glass window. The monitor on his bedside was beeping in steady rhythm. The infusion lines were dangling like his lifelines, connecting him to this world. A tube from his mouth was connected to a ventilator monitor, assisting the patient in breathing and his chest rose and fell steadily.

Mikoto was speechless. He had seen many sides of Munakata; as a normal, awkwardly uncanny man, as a convenient lover or friend, as a rival, as a Captain, as an impartial Blue King, but never like this. He always looked pristine and properly dressed in public view, standing tall as if nothing could put him off the balance. His vision was always on present and future, and for that reason, Munakata became his anchor to reality. And now the man in front of him appeared small and fragile, like a melting snow, ready to disappear in the first light of spring. His blue, regal uniform was replaced by thin, simple kimono and his pale skin was nearly as white as the bed sheet. If not for the beeping sound of the monitor, no one would think that there was still a life inside that body.

Daikaku explained without waiting for him to snap out of his trance, "He was critically wounded and he hit his head pretty bad. We have tried everything we could and now we put him here for his own protection."

Mikoto's eyes never left the blue-haired figure, and his expression was hard to read. His voice was low and soft to hear, "How does this happen?"

The Gold King folded his arms and put them inside the sleeves of his kimono. His eyes also rested on the unconscious King with compassion at the young King. He had seen many Kings came and went, as they perished due to their arrogance or foolish ambition. He had always been concerned how he could not find better replacement of him as a leader as the young generation was mostly spoiled and selfish. But the moment he laid his eyes on the new fourth King, he knew that this man was just like him. He would reign the country with cold hand from back stage like he had done and with passionate heart for his country and his people. They would probably be the best ally and the worst enemy if political view was involved. Nevertheless, he was pleased of finding a new, young King who was iron-willed to lead the people for better future. Their ways might differ, but they still thought fondly of Shizume City.

He had never thought of this day coming, that someone would be able to inflict such damage to the Blue King. For certain, the culprit was no ordinary man, for being able to hurt Munakata who had the highest defense attribute of all Kings' power. It was highly possible that person was another King. But he knew the remaining Kings had no interest to have conflict with other Kings, since it would only bring death closer. Even for Red King, who was often in dispute with Blue King, did not exert all of his power when they clashed. He did not need an expert to know that those fights were nothing more than childish quarrels. The only possible candidate would be the new Colorless King, since the late predecessor had just passed away recently. If his deduction was true, then this matter would be quite troublesome. The power of Colorless King always varied from each generation.

He glanced briefly at the overwhelmed Red King, being cautious not to reveal any secret to him. There was too much coincidences happened during the incident; so much that he was certain it was more than twist of fate. If the Blue King did not even ask for Gold King's assistance or guidance, let alone spilling the truth to him, then it must be a confidential subject and he had to tread this matter carefully. The pieces of this mystery were not complete, he needed more time before he took his action.

Daikaku shrugged slightly and stared at him calmly. "What has happened that night is still unclear. For now, we'll focus on keeping him alive and safe and wait for him to wake up. He is the only living evidence after all."

Suoh was silent, not even looking away from the broken king with a hollow stare. Respecting his need for privacy, Daikaku turned on his heel and left him alone inside the medical wing, "if you need anything, just call the doctors around. They are monitoring him from outside. If you are done visiting, please leave immediately."

Mikoto nodded curtly in reply, and he extended his right hand to touch lightly on the window glass, as if it would break by slightest touch. Without waiting any longer, he walked to the entrance glass door beside the window, and it slide automatically open. The inner room felt much colder compared to the outer chamber as he stepped inside, however the temperature did not even affect his body warmth. The antiseptic smell hit his nostrils much stronger inside as well. He did not let those aspects to bother him. Instead, he strode to the side of the bed and simply watched at the soulless body. He had seen several times of Munakata sleeping by his side whenever the other was too tired to leave after exhausting day of work and spontaneous rounds of sex. His steady breath always lulled him off and calmed him down. But now, his breathing was strained, as if forced out by the ventilator and he looked like a corpse so much it bothered him.

Without him realizing, his hand reached out for the pale cheek and touched lightly on the soft skin, lingering as if trying to warm up the icy skin. Usually once he cupped the other's cheek, a pair of gleaming violet eyes would stare at him in response, mostly with annoyance in pretense and a hint of concealed bliss. Now those eyelids remained shut, ignoring his presence altogether and Munakata did not even swat his hand away like he always did. Watching him in such frail state made him feel a constant dull ache inside his chest. He felt furious, but he did not even understand what made him feeling like that. Clenching his teeth unconsciously, Mikoto hurriedly left the room without looking back, trying to dismiss the negative feeling churning inside his stomach. He could no longer remain there and stay.

* * *

 

"Yes, there was a young student with short, silver hair on the rooftop when I came. Suddenly he shot me when I tried to greet him." Tatara put a hand on his heart, telling the amber-haired man where he was nearly shot that night. He finally spoke up, after being prodded by the older one relentlessly ever since he woke up. The rest of HOMRA had left to let Totsuka rest for his fast recovery, leaving only Kusanagi and Anna to accompany him.

"Seriously, Tatara…what are you doing there, anyway?" Kusanagi scratched his hair and sighed loudly. "And how many times King had told you not to trust a stranger?"

The younger man smiled apologetically and put a finger on his lips as he whispered, "Lower your voice, Izumo. Anna is sleeping." He moved his hand to the top of silver head, stroking her hair lightly and lovingly. The little strain had laid her head on Totsuka's lap, and she slept soundly as soon as she closed her eyes. She was utterly exhausted from staying up all night. He was enjoying the softness of Anna's hair when he continued his story.

"I don't know why, but Blue King suddenly was in front of me, protecting me from that bullet."

Kusanagi was bewildered and asked curiously, "Blue King? Munakata Reishi?"

The young lad gazed up and nodded cheerfully. "Yeah, he did. I should thank him later for saving me."

Kusanagi pinched the bridge of his nose at sudden revelation. Scepter 4, which was always being their enemies, saved a Red Clansman? The idea of Scepter 4 saving Totsuka did not bother him that much, since despite them being rivals, Scepter 4 still conceitedly considered HOMRA as normal citizens under their protection. But he wondered how the Captain of Scepter 4 could be there in the right time and the right place. He was grateful for such coincidence since Totsuka was alive now because of it; nevertheless he could not dismiss his notion that there was more to this story. "Then? What happens?"

Tatara was quiet for a moment before he shrugged and put his healthy hand on his head. "I don't know...The Blue King easily disables him. But when I try to get closer to them, I only see a fox and everything goes black. Then I wake up in here, bandaged here and there."

"A fox?"

Tatara nodded. "Yeah, I still don't understand why I only remember seeing a fox though."

Kusanagi only hummed thoughtfully and suddenly ruffled Tatara's head heartily into a mess. "Now tell me why do you go there alone?" Tatara averted his eyes and clumsily stuttered, "Well, you see…I-It's for Anna…I want to record the night view for her from the rooftop. You should see how beautiful it was, Izumo."

The latter suddenly perked up as if a light bulb just turned on and grabbed Tatara's shoulders firmly. "How about the camera? Where did you leave it?"

"I don't know…It should be on the rooftop, if Scepter 4 did not take it." He tilted his head innocently, "why do you ask?"

Kusanagi rapidly flipped out his phone and dialed up a number on his contact and smiled knowingly at him as he made a phone call, "To catch the culprit."

* * *

 

"There is no camera." Her voice was deadpanned, leaving no room for argument or further question. Izumo groaned. He always considered Seri being beautiful and smart with sometimes weird humor sense, but still quite lovable. Yet, when she was on her Lieutenant mode, she would reject him on the face without second thought and it damaged his pride a lot whenever she did that. She was being too loyal, always putting Scepter 4 and her Captain in priority before him. He never gave it much thought because he also loved that part of hers, (well, he occasionally felt jealous…occasionally.) but one of these days, they really needed to talk about it. 

"Seri-chan, it's Totsuka's birthday gift for Anna…Since we can't find it on the rooftop, it must be taken in by Scepter 4." He tried to poke on Seri's maternal instinct to persuade her. The other side of phone call was quiet for a while. Then she gave a curt reply, "I told you, we don't have it," and the line went dead. Totsuka only snickered good-naturedly at Izumo's perturbed face.

"Unbelievable! Did you see how she treats me?!" Izumo complained to the younger man and thrust his arms to the air irritated. He sulked even more when Tatara laughed softly at his dramatic anger. "Maybe it is really gone, I don't know."

Suddenly the door was opened and red head appeared from behind the door. Mikoto looked utterly drained that Totsuka felt pity for him for whatever the cause for his King's exhaustion. He walked slowly, getting closer to Totsuka's hospital bed with his hands on his pockets. Totsuka only stared at him patiently with a consoling smile before Mikoto lifted his hand to pat on Totsuka's head. "How do you feel?"

The amber-haired lad rested his hand on top of Mikoto's on his head and gave his best reassuring smile, "Have been better. Where have you been, King?" The amber haired smiled knowingly with little tease in his voice. "You've missed all the fun."

Suoh rolled his eyes and sighed as he flopped down on the edge of Totsuka's hospital bed. It bounced lightly due to the extra weight, yet not significant enough to wake Anna from her deep sleep. The golden eyes simply stared at the exhausted little strain, before Suoh unconsciously rested his hand on Anna's head and stroke her hair lightly. The youngest member of HOMRA smiled a little in her slumber, dreaming of mesmerizing red.

Kusanagi bit his lower lips, still deciding whether they had to discuss about the possible danger looming over HOMRA right now. This seemed not to be the right time, considering Totsuka was still recovering and he might still be traumatized from the event (although he appeared unfazed by it) and Mikoto looked as if his favorite pet just died on him. However, just because Totsuka was safe now, it did not mean that the culprit would not intentionally aim for HOMRA's member in the near future. He needed to alert the rest of HOMRA's member and put them on guard.

Before he could open his mouth, Mikoto had thrown a question to the sole patient in the room. "Who did this to you?"

Totsuka tilted his head and pondered for a while. Should he forge the story just so his King would not be so reckless to jump out of the window and rush to find the culprit or should he just tell him the truth? Okay, him jumping out of the window was a little excessive, nevertheless, he had known Mikoto for a long time. He was a good King, always watching out for his Clansmen even if he did not seem like a caring person. When someone tried to harm his own people, he would certainly have to pay with his blood by Suoh's own hand. The problem was, the Red King often was out of control when he was blinded by fury. Though he never said it loudly, Totsuka secretly was grateful for Scepter 4 for keeping HOMRA in check.

Mikoto gave him an icy glare though, thus Totsuka could not lie. His King would find out anyway, since they knew each other well. He dramatically exhaled, "I don't know him. I just met him on the rooftop that day. The Blue King said that he was Colorless King, though."

Mikoto raised an eyebrow, doubt flashed in his eyes. The news of last Colorless King's funeral, Ichigen Miwa, had reached his ears. But he had not been informed that the Dresden Slate had decided on the new predecessor. He was silent for a while, before he pressed on, "Continue."

"I was trying to take a video of night view from that rooftop. Then that stranger suddenly shot me for unknown reason."

"You have no gunshot wound, though." Kusanagi argued impulsively.

Totsuka nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Blue King saved me from being shot. When I realized, he had been in front of me."

The red-haired King was startled and had a flashback when he found Munakata lying on the medical wing of Gold's King residence. He shook his head, trying to get the revolting image out of his head in vain. The first question popped in his brain was the purpose of Munakata being on the rooftop at such hour. That man was a busy man; he would not waste his time, idling in a rooftop of random building unless he had a strong motive of doing so. He argued that it was probably to convene the Colorless King. Nevertheless, he did not consider that the encounter was arranged by both parties. Colorless King would not attempt to kill HOMRA's member if he was waiting for the Blue King since it would be a futile effort. Munakata would never allow such crime to transpire before him. Still, he could not figure out how Munakata was able to foretell that Colorless King would make his appearance there, even if he knew that the new King had been crowned.

The most mystery of all, how could the Colorless King inflict such critical damage on Munakata, when he himself was on par to Blue Aura? That unknown power intrigued him.

"He had told me to close my eyes and stay away. I thought it was because he was going to resort to violence to disarm the man and interrogate him. I did as he said. I think he easily overpowered him." Totsuka rubbed his forehead, trying to recall his missing memories to no avail. "When I got close to them, everything went blank and I'm here in the hospital."

Mikoto felt a dawdling anger surging through his vein. This stranger had tried to take life of his family and had gravely injured Munakata. His Aura seethed in resentment and his blood was boiling, thirst for revenge. Kusanagi suddenly interrupted them, "and the camera is missing. From Totsuka's testimony, the camera should be still on the rooftop, but we found nothing. I've asked Se-...err, Scepter 4's Lieutenant, but she said she knew nothing about it." He averted his eyes and mumbled softly, "though I think she is lying."

Totsuka shrugged. "If the camera is not broken, I should still have a picture of him in it."

Suoh Mikoto was quiet for a long time before he stood up. Without any word, he left out the room, leaving in silence as if he was never there to begin with. The other men glanced to each other anxiously as the door slide shut.

* * *

 

The night had fallen and the moon barely made its appearance as it was hidden behind the cloudy gray sky. Most of the lights in Scepter 4 HQ were put out to save electricity since only a person remained behind to finish his overcapacity works because of a certain King on sick leave for indefinite period. Just when he thought he could finally have some peace to concentrate and catch up with all of his reports, he heard the startlingly loud booming sound that was so familiar to his ears. It was easy for him to make precise guess of the perpetrator that had disturbed his peaceful night.

Fushimi growled in annoyance as he felt terrible urge to pull out all of his knives hidden under his uniform jacket and aimed them on certain red-haired man, who had persistently disturbed their HQ again. On the same day. Guess the storm had not passed them by. And for worse, this man had destroyed a part of building wall to archives room, trespassing without feeling guilty about it. If Awashima was still in HQ, she would shriek like a banshee. Luckily, he had sent her away to take some rest a few hours ago. Unlucky for him, he was now stuck with this intruder alone to intercept him. He abruptly made his way to the exploded site. The hallway nearby was full of dust. He covered his nose instantly with his sleeve and walked inside the crumbling room where they used to keep evidence from various missions and investigations.

Just as he suspected, the Red King, stood calmly as he scanned around, checking each boxes carelessly which had been filed according to the case numbers previously. Now that he had put chaos into this place, Fushimi tried his best to suppress sudden urge to lunge forward and strangle the man in front of him for condemning him extra works, including cleaning up, fixing the place and putting the boxes in order again. He scowled ferociously, "Barbarian. Is this how you repay for Scepter 4's goodwill? Is it not enough for you to destroy Captain, that you also obliterate his office?"

Mikoto frowned on the unwanted visitor and his sharp tongue, but he did not stop from searching what he was coming for. "You have been keeping what is supposedly HOMRA's. I'm taking it back."

"What will you do about it anyway if you find it?" Fushimi leaned on the crumbling wall and observed as Mikoto wrecked the whole place. He possessed no power in equal against a King after all. He would not waste his energy on predestined losing battle. He could only hope to prevent the intruder from inflicting further damage.

Mikoto was startled by the question that his hands halted abruptly from moving. He lowered his gaze, avoiding eye contact with newest member of Blue Clansmen. "…I will kill the culprit."

Fushimi scoffed scornfully at that and shrugged, "As always, you will only cause more destruction, to you and your Clansmen. Thank you for wasting Captain's sacrifice. That's all HOMRA is capable of, I guess."

A fist slammed to the wall beside his head, making it crumbling down faster. Fushimi did not falter; his expression was condemnatory as he stood still in front of the wrath of Red Aura. Suoh's golden eyes flickered as they spoke without word. _'Who are you to criticize me?'_

"Can't you see that Captain is trying to save HOMRA? Who are you to waste his effort?" Fushimi confronted him without remorse; he did not need his Captain to speak his mind to understand his goal on that night. It was more than obvious that Captain was there all for the sake of saving Totsuka, although he could not figure out how Captain had such accurate knowledge that murder would occur. If Munakata only attempted to observe or imprison Colorless King, he would not waste so much time and effort waiting for the man to conduct his evil deed. After all, the Blue King appeared to have known almost everything about the culprit, based on their short banter.

Suoh cringed slightly at his retort and a shade of guilt swarmed inside his eyes as he pulled out his fist from the shattered wall. "Tell me, what happened that night? I could tell that you were there that night."

"And if I don't?"

"I'll find that camera on my own and might tear down this whole place to find it."

Fushimi clicked his tongue angrily. "Are you blackmailing me? Quite smooth, Red King."

"So are you going to talk?" Suoh took out a cigarette to his lips and lit it up with a flick of his finger.

"I cannot give you the video. We could not let the public know that Captain of Scepter 4 is currently not available. It will disrupt the public order. Some mafias are afraid of Captain, you see."

"I promise you, that news will not leave outside HOMRA." The red-haired man offered the cigarette to the young commander, but the latter shook his head in refusal.

Fushimi sighed in annoyance before he went pass through the Red King and made his way to the falling shelves and boxes. He shoved some containers on top of a pile of boxes and pulled out a big package with a label of 'fragile' in front of it. He blew off the dust on the package and walked back to where Suoh stood silently, waiting. He inhaled deeply. Awashima would slice him into tiny pieces if she knew that he had handed it over without much struggle. However, he could see that regardless his effort to make Suoh leave in peace without the evidence, that man would still demolish this HQ down to get what he wanted.

Suoh was about to snatch the package from Fushimi's hand before the young commander pulled it back out of his reach. The King growled threateningly.

"Remember your promise." He reminded the reckless King as he slowly extended his hand to give the package to Suoh. "Before you watch this, I need to tell you, he did not kill Totsuka, you know. He tried to save him, but shit happens. They fall from the building, and he even still attempted to help him."

Suoh wordlessly watched him and grabbed the package carefully. He understood perfectly who Fushimi had meant. He stared at the covered evidence before he finally muttered, more like to himself. "I know." Never once it crossed his mind to doubt Munakata for being the perpetrator of hurting Totsuka. He could not imagine for him doing so, especially after witnessing the Blue King in the thin line between life and death. Looking from the casualty, he could easily figure out that Munakata struggled to save Totsuka, causing his own demise. Even falling from top of the tower would not harm Munakata with his Blue Aura, unless he had something else requiring his full attention…

He put the package inside his jacket and hid his hands inside his pockets. Suoh briefly said his gratitude at Fushimi as he whirled around to make his way out from the hole in the wall he had made before. "Thanks."

Fushimi did not move from his current spot, watching quietly as the Red King leaving. When he was no longer visible, he crouched down and put his hands to his face pathetically. "Damn…Always giving me trouble. What should I do with all these mess?"

* * *

 

The white cloud was high on the blue sky, and the heat was rather unbearable for early winter sun. A young student strolled in the city, carrying a red umbrella on his shoulder, instead of using it to shield his skin against the bright sun. He hummed lightly as his feet lightly stepped on the road. Mischief was hidden well inside his eyes, while he put on his innocent mask. A pink cat was on his right shoulder, the bell in its collar jingled as they walked. His silver hair shone under the sunlight, nearly as pale as his skin. He pulled out a note on his hand and read it for a moment before tucking it in again on his pocket. "Okay, I only have to find that firework shop…it should be around here."

Isana looked around, trying his hardest to find the shop around the biggest screen in the city. Kukuri's description of shop's location was not exactly helpful, but since he had nothing much to do on his afternoon break and he should help out a girl in distress whenever he could, he tried to saunter around to find the shop mentioned. His eyes widened brightly when he finally able to find the store after fifteen minutes of circling around the spot.

He entered the shop joyfully and pulled out his reminder, "I have to get the receipt too." He grabbed the fireworks needed for the festival and purchased them, not forgetting his receipt. Putting them neatly in his bag, he left the store and thought of returning back to the academy as soon as possible when suddenly a young lad on his skateboard stopped him and attempted to slam his head with a steel baseball stick. He swiftly avoided the hit, and the red-haired boy hit the store's front glass instead. As Isana sprawled on the floor, that boy checked out on something like his photo on the holographic screen. For some reason, he grinned widely at Isana, and the silver-haired boy could feel that his life was in terrible danger.

Isana hurriedly scrammed around and ran as fast as he could. The stranger nearly caught up with him, so he scanned around and swiftly jumped into a wagon box that had stopped by the streetlight. He looked around, hoping the pursuer had given up to catch up to no avail against car speed. His relief was short-lived, as all of sudden that boy had caught up with him and nearly punched him with a red aura swirling around his arm. Before he could even take another breath, his companions on motorbike attempted to break his head with a baseball stick.

_'Why is this happening to me?!'_

Isana found himself being sandwiched between his attackers. He promptly ran to a small, dark alley on his left, avoiding the obstacles quickly as he made his way out. Barely escaping, there was another man standing in the alley, inhaled deeply his cigarette, blocking his way. He tried to warn the blond man, hoping he would make way. "I'm sorry, please get out of the way!"

He regretted of announcing his presence instantly, as that man threw his cigarette up in the air, and that thing turned into a rain of fire bullet unbelievably, aimed at him. Isana thought that his life was ending that moment, when suddenly another stranger with a long black hair, tied into ponytail, stood in front of him and pulled out his sword, miraculously cut down the fire bullets as his blade dancing against them. The next moment he turned his head, the man in black coat had already defeat the red-haired boy easily. He barely had time to register what had happened in his brain, when that man grabbed his collar and embraced him. For a short time, he was left in awe, staring at the beautiful black eyes with little shade of blue on them and fair, handsome feature. His admiration was brief, when that man instantly made an extension like hand from his real hand and jumped away from the spot to the rooftop. They did not stop jumping away, making their way back to the rooftop of random building near the wide screen in the middle of city.

His savior was nasty enough to toss him away as they landed. Isana would make no comment for his behavior though, since he had benevolently saved his life. However, he could feel that even this man was dangerous, and he was about to make his leave in civil manner, when black-haired man effectively halted him with his sheathed sword. As he found himself again sitting on the floor, that man introduced himself as a vassal of Seventh King (though he had no idea what he had meant with King and vassal in such modern society) and was called Yatogami Kuroh. His name was beautiful to his ears, as pretty as his gleaming sword, but that steel in his hand and his face were infuriatingly frightening.

He tried to cheer up the atmosphere a little bit, lopsidedly introducing his own name, when Kuroh abruptly cut him with a swing of his sword, only an inch away from his neck and suddenly a button from his uniform clattered away. Kuroh calmly told him that he would slay the evil king, and there was an abrupt sound of static noise from the screens on the stations. When he glanced to his side, trying to figure out what was the noise about, he was more surprised to see his face in the wide screen, grinning like a mad dog. The screen played a video he did not recognize; a young man named Totsuka Tatara filmed it and met him on a place he did not know. It felt weird to see his own face, and his mind was totally blown away when a man with his face whirled around and tried to shot the one who filmed the video. Then the screen went black, and the spectators left wondering whether that man on video was dead or not.

Without wasting another minute, Kuroh was on his battle stance, and told him that he would take his life by his own hand. His life was such a joke; he was about to get killed by strangers, and suddenly got rescued by another beautiful stranger, and now this person actually wanted to slay him too. Instinctively he scrambled, trying to flee using the exit door of the rooftop, but before he could even reach the doorknob, a holographic hand grabbed his collar and thrust him high in the air. If he fell from such height, without doubt, he would not escape simply with nasty scrapes. He was left dangling in the air, fear for his life.

Isana yelled out of protest, "I'm innocent! Would this Miwa have you kill an innocent man!?"

That put Kuroh in hesitation and he finally lowered Isana haphazardly. Doubt was transparent in his black eyes as he grabbed Isana's collar and turned him to face the wide screen in the station, questioning him inaudibly at the resemblance of him and that criminal shown on the screen. The silver-haired man laughed weakly, cursing at this puzzling situation inwardly. He did not remember of doing such crime, and yet there was quite strong evidence telling him otherwise. No wonder suddenly there were strangers aiming for his life although he seriously believed someone must have framed him or that person could have similar face to him. After all, there could two or three people with face similar like yours in this world, right? Nevertheless, no one would believe him after watching that video.

"Okay, well…I might not look innocent at the moment, but there is a saying 'don't judge people by its cover' right?"

Kuroh glowered at him furiously. "I only judge a man by his action."

Isana tried to put some sense into Kuroh's head to stop him from killing him. If that man really gave him up to the police, he could think a way of escaping. At least, he should run away from the tip of Kuroh's sword which looked more threateningly compared to police's guns. However, Kuroh did not even care to listen, and even told him that he only obeyed his master. Talk about blind faith…Isana sighed in defeat and wrecked his brain, trying to find a way out of this situation. For a person like this, only one thing would work. Sympathy.

He started to deceive him, saying that he had a gravely sick sister, and she only had him in this world and he wanted to write her a farewell letter. People with kind heart would never be able to resist from feeling pity for him if he told him such sappy woven story. He put on the best of his anxious face as he sat. Without looking up, he could easily picture a pity on Kuroh's eyes as he wrote down a fake letter. The next moment, he secretly grabbed the flash bombs inside his bag, the ones that he had bought from the firework store before. Who had known that he would have to use them so soon? When Kuroh read that letter, he winked at him and threw those bombs on the floor, effectively blinding the black-eyed lad.

In that instant moment, Isana grabbed and hid himself inside a plush costume lying abandoned nearby. His heart nearly skipped a beat when he heard a loud bang on the rooftop door. His pursuer without doubt was furious for being deceived. He could only pray that their fated encounter was just for that one time, since if they met next time, Kuroh would cut off his neck without even listening to him. He waited without sound inside the costume, and when his enemy left the rooftop, he pulled up the head of the costume. It was hot inside, he barely could breath. Now he had no choice but to walk around with this costume, especially when the wide screen suddenly showed a bounty over his head with such tremendous reward from HOMRA. Great, his daily life was totally ruined.

* * *

 

The Gold King sighed at his visitor resignedly and flicked his fan gracefully as he spoke to his Clansmen in rabbit mask. "Guide him to medical wing. Please make this your last visit, Red King. I would prefer having no regular visitor at my home."

Mikoto smirked at him insultingly. "Your mistake for putting him in here. Who knows you would play favoritism."

Daikaku glared at him, though he did not even move away from his sitting spot. "Such outrageous accusation…leave now."

Mikoto did not need to be told twice to turn his back and follow the rabbit clansman to the inner chamber. He tried to remember the map of the building, especially the way to the medical chamber, but to no avail. The direction seemed to be different compared to the first time he arrived at the medical wing, which was around last week. The red king could feel the faint power of strains, and the one that guided him must also be the user of perception manipulator. He resisted the urge to dispel the strains' power since if he did so, certainly the Gold King would never allow him coming again. He clicked his tongue, trying to settle down his annoyance.

After another long, wearisome walk, he arrived at the familiar white room, and the suffocating scent of antiseptic. The medical staffs inside made a short bow at his entrance, before resuming their work. He paid no heed to them and strode past them to the core chamber of medical wing. His legs felt heavier as he got closer to where the Blue King resided. He did not even know the purpose of him coming. It was not as if his visit would hasten the recovery of Munakata. There was also no way for him to recover so quickly from such fatal damage. Even if he came everyday to visit him, there was probably no significant change.

When he arrived by the window glass, he was surprised by the lack of ventilator that he abruptly grabbed the nearby staff and asked him in high-pitched voice unconsciously, "Is he getting better?!" The medical staff squeaked in surprise and cringed at his intimidating voice. Even with his rabbit mask on, it was obvious that the man was afraid of him. He stammered clumsily, "Y-yeah…his recovery, you know, was beyond normal people…U-Umm…he is doing well, so we plugged off the ventilator."

Mikoto released the medical staff, which immediately ran away from him and knocked a trolley down accidentally as he escaped. The red-haired King felt as if a great burden was lifted from his shoulder. Resting his hands in his pockets, he entered the isolated chamber calmly and walked to the side of sole bed inside. He simply stared at Munakata's face, which was still as pale as he saw him before. His breathing was much steadier, but the loud beeping sound of the monitor made him difficult to listen to his breathing noise without straining his ears. Yet he still felt like smiling at watching him. At least he got better, even if it was slightly.

The leader of HOMRA put his hand on the pale cheek, rubbing it lightly before his hand strayed to the sapphire side locks, combing it gently and feeling the softness between his fingers. How he wished his rival would open his closed long eyelids and stared at him with his usual fierceness, complaining of his reckless actions mercilessly. Yet the man in front of him remained clueless, unconscious to whatever he would do.

He lowered his head and brought his lips to the blue strands in his hand, kissing it lightly. As expected, he did not get a response. Feeling slightly irritated to something like being ignored, though he knew Munakata could not help it, Mikoto felt an urge to payback for his silence. He allowed his lips to linger on the blue locks, then to his forehead, his cheeks and the tip of his nose. Mikoto pulled back a little to observe if he had managed to get a reaction, but Munakata did not even move a muscle. Rebelliously, he stole a kiss on the cold lips, letting it linger longer than the rest of the kisses. If Munakata somehow had the knowledge that he had kissed him without consent, the young Captain would probably punch him on the face or slam his head to the nearby wall. It was Munakata's loss for not knowing that Mikoto had just stolen a kiss on his lips.

"It's hard without you here." He whispered quietly to the deaf ears. "If you sleep too much, when you wake up, I might have already destroyed half of the world, you know."

Ever since the incident, he regularly had nightmare of losing control over his power and annihilating everything, including his family, his friends, Tatara, Izumo, Anna…even Munakata. What scared him further, he knew that no one would stop him if that happened, since his only shackles now was barely keeping himself alive. Mikoto slammed his fist on the bed, beside Munakata's head in frustration.

"Thanks for saving Tatara, but I need you here…" He trailed off on his confession and blamed himself for his weakness. Then no more word was heard, but the beeping sound of monitor to break the silence.


	5. Birdcage of Memories

Disclaimer: Like usual, K is not mine! Ugh...*cry*

Note: And another chapter to add up. I was too busy with tons of things so I forgot to update here! *crossfinger* And I deeply thank you for SouriMaxwellYuy068 for pointing out my error in putting Bandou's name here~ XD If it's not for you, it will remain as a confusing point forever, I guess.

* * *

  
_"Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence._  
_Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance._  
_Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence._  
_Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance."_  
― **Yoko Ono**

* * *

  
Their first encounter was completely ordinary.  
  
A few days after he was selected as the new Blue King when he had just freshly graduated from esteemed university, he received an invitation letter from the one of the wisest King, none other than the Gold King. Beforehand, he had received a brief, formal phone call, explaining what had recently happened to him and the meaning of being Kings by a Gold King's private subordinate. At first, he thought it was nothing more than a prank call, but after the letter came, it finally dawned on him. He did not mention it to his parents regarding his newly awkward status bestowed upon him nor the invitation. It still felt unfamiliar to him that he could not explain his sudden change and power swirling ardently inside him. However, he was grateful for this sudden boost to climb up the political ranks since he had so much ambition for this beloved city to remain peaceful, where his family had been residing in.  
  
Ever since he was young, he was often relied on for being the leader, though he was socially awkward. Reishi had always loved to be depended on, to be trusted with heavy responsibilities. He had more than multiple times of experience being selected as the president of student councils, though he sometimes wondered if he was able to do much more than taking care of a large group of students. As if a random deity answered his wishes, this time he would assume a position nothing like he had experienced before; the throne of the King, which was profoundly weighed down with responsibilities of the world.  
  
For the first step, the young blue king intended to pay the respect to the elder and make good impression, thus in early morning he had left the house on the mentioned day. He had departed early, hoping that the commuter train would be spacious enough. Nevertheless, unexpectedly the trains were out of service that day, and he had to wait for another hour. It would be wasteful to take a cab to reach Gold King's residence since he still had a lot of time to spare. He patiently waited, but when the trains were finally functioning, they were terribly crowded with students and office workers.  
  
Being quick to his feet, he easily got a seat inside the train. Nevertheless, once he spotted an elder on board, he swiftly stood aside and guided her to his previous seat. Seeing that his destination was still quite distance, he scurried near to the exit door to make himself comfortable without being squeezed by mass of people. Pulling out his book from his bag, Reishi drowned into his world of silence.  
  
He was too focused on reading that he did not notice who got on or off the train. When the train suddenly bent a little on a turn, he was not prepared for people in front of him losing their balance and falling on him like domino cards. He nearly yelped in surprise someone breached his personal space by being so close to his face, although that person successfully prevented himself from leaning on Reishi. A pair of muscular arms was on the sides of his head, pressing on the train glass door, supporting the owner from falling. His broad back halted the people behind him from tumbling further and thus prevented them from knocking Reishi down. He glanced up to see the stranger, and his mind was lost in astonishment. The red hair was like the scorching flame and his eyes were gold, like the brilliant sun. Totally befitting of the man, Reishi thought. This man was really like a sun, especially with his appeal radiating blatantly. When he noticed his surroundings, people were watching at that stranger with adoring gaze, like how he had appreciated the magnificence just now.  
  
Pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, Reishi murmured a quiet 'Thank you'. That man on his fur black jacket slightly nodded in acknowledgment, barely showing indication that he listened to him. He did not comment for such discourteous manner. He could not expect everyone to be as refined as he was, and that stranger had helped him so he paid no heed to that man's ignorance. Stealing a short glance, he felt a little spark inside him. He occasionally felt such spark when he was too emotional ever since he possessed the Blue Aura, but this time was different. This spark was more like a morning alarm, not strong enough to make him trembling in excitement, but not weak enough to stay unnoticed. He could not discern the meaning of this spark as it was first for him to feel such. He tried to dismiss such feeling by reading on his book and shutting the world out. Nonetheless, he could feel a piercing stare from that stranger that made him uncomfortable.  
  
Luckily, that red-haired man alighted on the next station, though he still looked back at him briefly as he dismounted from the train. When Reishi could no longer see that man, he let out a loud sigh he had been holding back, mumbling to himself. "Seriously, what was that?"  
  
He finally grasped the hint of that spark once he met the Gold King. When the new king met the elder, the latter was pretty much hostile for an initial greeting. Despite his age, the Gold King appeared to be still in his prime health. Reishi was about to bow in respect for the elder when he heard the snap sound of a fan in Daikaku's hand, and without warning, the white-haired King summoned his celestial power and assaulted him mercilessly.  
  
Reishi was not accustomed to his power yet, and the sudden attack put him off guard, but he instinctively erected the transient sapphire wall in front of him just in time as he flinched. A meteor struck his defense, and he marveled when he was left unscathed. He gathered his composure, and when the next burning space stars went straight toward him incessantly, he focused in forming finer barrier like a dome around him. When he saw a smirk on Daikaku's face, Reishi realized that the elder was testing his ability and at the same time, giving him opportunity to test out the extent of his Aura. He finally remained calm as Daikaku persisted on attacking him, provoking him. Without wasting his chance, he attempted to see the Blue Aura for offense. There was not much he could do to inflict damage on Daikaku, since his aura was more for defense. But in war strategy, even best defense could be the best offense. He tried to expand his barrier to suppress the Gold Aura to no avail. He could expect nothing less from the second King though.  
  
As sudden as his assault, Daikaku spontaneously stopped attacking him and hid his Sword of Damocles with another snap of his fan. He grinned pleasantly, when the new blue king sighed involuntarily for abrupt tranquility. "Welcome, the fourth King, the Blue King." And then there was a quiet spark rising from his chest, it made him uncomfortable.  
  
Daikaku seemed to understand what had troubled him that he answered without being asked as he sat on the seat pillow on the straw mat, "You must have wondered the meaning of that feeling, palpitating inside you, no?" Reishi was stunned for a moment before he nodded slowly and followed the lead to sit across each other. "The Kings power resonates with each other. Thus, when you encounter another King, the Aura will alert you of his presence, getting ready to be called forth if the other King tries to attack you unless the latter conceals his Aura."  
  
That reminded Reishi back to his previous incident in the train. Was that red-haired man with brilliant charisma actually a King? That explained the feeling of enchantment from him. Afterward, the meeting went smoothly as the Gold King explained his responsibilities should he up to the task. He was more than willing to take the role as a King to lead and protect his city that he stated he would lead as the Captain of Scepter 4. He had heard the neglected fate of Scepter 4 and Reishi was determined to pull it out of the mud and brought it to its deserved glory.  
  
Afterward, months passed him by as he began his exhausting work and recruited new, talented people to his team. His little incident with unknown King in the train that day left forgotten. However, fate was such an irony, for suddenly he met that man once again when he was finally trusted to supervise HOMRA, the official clan of Red King. The local police had just given up since those people possessed the extraordinary power bestowed by their King and normal people could not stand a chance against them. They were nothing different from mafia in Reishi's book, keeping other groups from trespassing their districts. Reishi would pay no attention on them since they assisted in keeping peace from shadow inadvertently and he had tons of workload to worry about if they did not actually destroy public property wherever they went.  
  
The second time he saw those sharp gold eyes, the familiar spark flickered inside him, echoing louder than before with each encounters. He spent months of denying his attraction until he finally decided to be on term with his peculiar, nagging feeling. He admitted only to himself that he had crush on Suoh Mikoto, in platonic way and it would remain so. The other man himself looked disinterested most of the time at seeing him, so he would not worry of developing further feeling. As time passed by, his interest on Mikoto would jade and things would be in perfect balance once again.  
  
Everything went down into silent chaos when Mikoto seemed to notice his hidden secret from little affectionate glances or gestures behind stoic mask. Everyone would think that the leader of HOMRA simply lived how he wanted freely and did not pay attention to the rest of people as a King would be to his vassals, just as Reishi thought too. Therefore, it surprised him when out of blue, Mikoto grabbed his hand with a sword in it during their petty fight, separated away from their subordinates and confronted him without batting an eye. Reishi denied it almost instantly, but Mikoto just loved to annoy him that he took that moment to brush his lips against the latter and smirked unceremoniously as Reishi abruptly rubbed his lips with his sleeve, pretending that it was nothing to influence him. Then HOMRA's leader whirled around and retreated back from their battle without care. The Blue King was determined to have his retribution though; he hated to lose more than anything.  
  
From brief kiss laced with humiliation and revenge, it led to convenient sexual partner over months. Reishi could not even recall what started their indistinct romantic affiliation at that point. They were absolutely enemies, but when King status was stripped away from them, only twisted men remained; taking advantage of each other, putting salt on each other's wound, condemning each other of their solitary lives. At the corner of his mind, a small voice asked him if he did not make a mistake for not ending their awkward acquaintance but he shrugged it off, thinking of it simply as a routine. What was between him and Mikoto nothing more than fleeting attraction as equal Kings and he would be able to maintain the balance of his feelings, to his conceit.  
  
He began to realize the demise of his ignorance after the death of Totsuka Tatara. Mikoto was too occupied with revenge business; all he could see was red and certainly blue color was not in it. Then he realized that he missed Suoh's companion which he had gotten used to, and his heart twanged when Suoh wordlessly broke him up. Missed calls left unanswered, glances and meetings were ignored, questions left unanswered. But things had happened and if Suoh had moved on, so would he, even if half-heartedly. Even when Suoh went to Scepter 4 HQ willingly for confinement, he spared no more affection for such desperate man waiting for his end. Reishi would still be his so-called friend at best, because he understood how heavy it was to be a King and how lonesome it was, but he would not return to that abominable relationship with current Suoh. He did not recognize a dying Red King who had succumbed to the temptation of his emotion. The man he once loved was no longer there.  
  
At that thought, an airy spirit basked in light appeared behind him, smiling like warm star. "So why did you try so hard to save him?"  
  
Reishi whirled around to see his sudden guest to find nothing around him. That was when he sensed the ripple of his consciousness back to him.  
  
He found himself behind steel bars like in the prisons. As he glanced up, there was a canopy above him, connecting to those bars. This place was apparently a birdcage-like prison. The surrounding outside was painted in pristine blinding white. As far as he extended his arm through the bars, there was no sensation filling him.  
  
When he looked around more carefully, there was a small wooden table and a chair in the middle of nothingness. He approached it slowly, trying to see it more clearly without his glasses. The only thing found on the table was a little hourglass, which the sand trickling from top to the bottom glass. However, no matter how much time passing, the sand itself seemed to never run out. He tried to lift the hourglass up, wondering if something would happen if he flipped it, but it could not even be removed from the table, despite his hard effort to pull it out. Reishi panted lightly from exertion, trying to understand the whole meaning of this as he sat down on the only chair. The minute he relaxed himself to ponder, extreme exhaustion flooded his sense and before he could stop himself, he had drowned back into black oblivion.

* * *

  
Yata tapped his foot impatiently as he waited. At first he was more than enthusiastic when Mikoto briefly ordered them to find out the culprit who had hurt Tatara. No one would live unscathed once they hurt his important family. He thought nothing but blood lust for revenge. However, when Tatara was discharged from hospital with an arm sling and his usual fresh spirit, he finally found out the whole reason of searching might be entirely different from what he had expected.  
  
It was national secret that the Blue King was wounded and was currently in critical state (although Kusanagi and Mikoto did not exactly hide it from them either). He had assumed that Mikoto felt indebted to his rival king for saving Tatara, thus he was chasing the criminal to pay back and bring him justice. After all, Mikoto never liked being indebted. Normally he would be more than happy to hear the bad news befalling on Scepter 4, since it would mean that Scepter 4 would be less harassing at trying to contain HOMRA. And hopefully his best-, no, his ex-best friend would open his eyes that he belonged in HOMRA and probably returned to his previous family to fix his err. If Saruhiko indeed did that and apologized to him on his knees, maybe he would forget the past and resume their friendship again.  
  
But weeks had passed and they had started to catch the trail of the criminal and he still had not seen any sign of Saruhiko resigning from that abominable organization. What was so special about being Blue Clansmen that Saruhiko would even break what they had, just for the sake of joining in their ranks? He had met him accidentally more than once, but they ended up bickering and fighting like usual. It seemed that they could not restore what had been broken after all, and if he had to be honest, it broke his heart. A little. Or maybe more.  
  
And Misaki felt guilty as well for saying the wrong words that initiated another fight with Saruhiko. However, this time was different, he could feel it. Usually Saruhiko would only give him a mocking look, or possibly a long, bored stare. But when he accidentally blurted out that Munakata was in the brink of life and death, and Saruhiko was a fool to follow a dead man, he could see cold fury behind those blue eyes as they glared at each other. He thought Munakata was a cold man that not even his subordinates would feel anything toward his death; how wrong he was. If Blue Clansmen indeed did not have any feeling toward him, they would never be his Clansmen. Misaki could not understand though what Saruhiko saw in Blue King that he would go with him instead of with the great Mikoto.  
  
He perfectly understood that HOMRA was indebted to Scepter 4 in some way for saving Tatara, since he was irreplaceable. Everyone in HOMRA was irreplaceable of course, but Tatara was special. If anyone asked who the right hand of Red King was, they would quickly state Kusanagi's name proudly. However, Tatara was the one who kept the flame in HOMRA warm and fuzzy, instead of scorching and devastating. His fire was beautiful, although weak; the dancing flame butterfly, as mesmerizing as illusion. Such power was useless in battle, but it would distract anyone by its beauty. If he was gone, he could only imagine how HOMRA would be in rampage. His blood boiled in anticipation for such moment, but at the same time, he was afraid of the consequence. Fire burned when there was still oxygen, eventually it would die out. When the rampage and the bloody thrill ended, who knew how many people left in HOMRA being alive? He shuddered at the thought.  
  
It would be appropriate of him to do favor for Scepter 4 for that debt. Maybe he should try to be a little bit more lenient and calm the next time he met Saruhiko. It was appalling, but he should show his appreciation a little bit toward the one who had saved Tatara. Even Tatara himself requested of him to be on good term with Scepter 4, so he would at least make an attempt to fulfill his wish.  
  
Misaki snapped out of his thought when Rikio tapped his shoulder while wheezing, "Misaki-san, you are too fast." The larger man tried to catch up with his breathing before he continued, "This ain't gonna work. This place is too huge." The red haired boy clicked his tongue in annoyance and whirled around with his skateboard on his arm as he walked away. "Let's go, we'll look around harder. We need to find that bastard."  
  
As they walked, there were two pretty girls in uniform standing not far from them. Yata only threw them a short glance before he intended to leave them alone. After all, he did not know how to treat girls. They were like porcelains, beautiful but fragile. You had to respect them, and may admire them, but since he only knew violence, he was not confident in handling a girl, including Anna. They might break with his little touch. But without thinking twice, Rikio asked them in such threatening voice that it annoyed Yata for his rudeness. His cavalry side took over and he hit Rikio's head for his behavior while those girls made their escape away from them. "I keep saying it! You don't even threaten a lady!"  
  
"Still being a little virgin white knight, huh?"  
  
That familiar voice instantly infuriated him. He slowly turned around and as expected, the man he had wanted to kill all this time was standing carelessly behind him. "You bastard…"  
  
Suddenly he recalled what Tatara had asked of him for treating Scepter 4 kindly, without exception. Yata cursed under his breath and inhaled deeply. He clenched his teeth, bracing for the hardest battle ever in century and made weak, fake smile toward his old nemesis. "Y-Yo, Saruhiko! What are you doing here?"  
  
The latter looked surprised and raised an eyebrow at his sudden change at heart. Being friendly with current Saruhiko was asking too much of him! Even Saruhiko stared at him as if he had just grown another head! What a bastard…he had tried so hard to reconcile and yet Saruhiko looked down at him like looking at a monkey. The raven head shrugged and smirked at them, "Fancy meeting you here. I bet Anna helped you to find this place? You probably decide to act on your own again, right? You never change."  
  
Looking annoyed, Misaki retorted back. "Shut the fuck up. I'm doing a favor for you, okay? Stop talking like you know me."  
  
Saruhiko was stunned for a moment before he sneered, "A favor? What can you do on your own, little Misaki?" He pushed his eyeglasses to the bridge of his nose and asked again, "Before that, how did you manage to sneak in here? The security is tight here. Where is your pass?"  
  
"It's none of your business!" Misaki yelled back. Why should Saruhiko be irritating even when he tried to be nice for once? He even tried to hold back from telling him off not to use his first name so casually. Misaki exerted the last straw of his patience and walked toward Saruhiko slowly, "So, have you found the guy? We've asked around and no one seemed to know him." He glanced through his shoulder to look at Rikio behind him, who nodded in agreement as a reply.  
  
Saruhiko snorted. Somehow today Yata was not easily aggravated and now he had nowhere to let off some steam. He shrugged; guess it was not his day. His brain told him that it would be for the best since he was not in his prime condition either. He had stayed awake for whole three nights with help of countless cups of black coffee to hack into private and public surveillance to find Colorless King's location since it was difficult to seek legal approval without King's personal request.  
  
Ever since the day they encountered the supposedly Colorless King, Seri had resumed all Captain's responsibility into her hands. Unexpectedly she was much a tyrant compared to Captain when it was related to her job and the workload and responsibility obviously increased tremendously.  
  
When Captain was still around, he often pushed most of his work to Seri and him, to Fushimi's chagrin, while he spent time in luxury to play with his puzzles. Despite of that, though the youngest commander still had to stay overtime to finish all his and the rest of Scepter 4's reports back then, it was nothing comparable to days where Captain was inactive. These days, even all Scepter 4 members had to stay behind since none of the works were finished. It dawned on him that though Captain loved to procrastinate with his paper works, he often took the most efficient method to cut the chase, and thus shortened their investigation time and effort. Furthermore, he was more lenient to mistakes compared to Seri since he had always calculated human errors in his plans. Now that their King was out of duty, Scepter 4 was in the brink of collapsing due to extreme exhaustion. The only thing that kept most of them going on was their pertinence to even the score for their King.  
  
However, one thing seemed to change for better turn after the misfortune befallen to Blue King. It surprised him when Misaki attempted to make peaceful chat with him longer than a minute and said that Howling Flame had full intention in assisting Scepter 4 to chase the Colorless King. He thought HOMRA put up the bounty over the culprit's head for the sake of avenging Tatara alone. This would be the first time in history for HOMRA for supporting Scepter 4 in their investigation on their own volition. Regardless their good intention, he could never agree with how HOMRA did their things though. Fushimi sighed as he recalled his tiring days on front of his laptop, trying to tone down the chaos on the internet filled with groundless rumors after HOMRA hacked into public media and played the video on the event night. If anything, HOMRA only added another pile of works to his desk, instead of helping him.  
  
"Of course, you couldn't find him. You never use your brain, Misaki." Fushimi snorted soundly and put his left hand that was in his sword before to his waist. Apparently for once, Misaki was being mature and ignored his challenge. "This island is big. You will be looking for him for a year and still miss him out."  
  
Misaki clicked his tongue, irritated at Fushimi's remark. He folded his arms in front of his chest, while leaning to his skateboard. "Speak for yourself. Despite all those privileges and authority you are so pride of, I bet you still haven't found the guy as well. You waste too much time in stupid things like regulations. I doubt you can even catch him before your Captain died."  
  
"Yata-san!"  
  
Misaki gasped, and put his hand to his mouth when he realized his grave mistake. Kusanagi and Tatara had warned him not to speak of Munakata's condition, let alone revealing it. And yet, now not only he had stated the national secret in public place, he even said the taboo words. Luckily no other students was around, thus no one heard him. But now he was still deep in the mud since Fushimi growled darkly with a twisted smile. "Whose fault do you think it is? If Mikoto is even doing his job, this won't happen. You people always talk big."  
  
The red vanguard twitched at the offensive remark about Mikoto and was about to snap back when Rikio tapped his shoulder and shook his head. "Whatever he says, you should still apologize, Yata-san."  
  
Misaki looked furious for a moment before he lowered his gaze and gritted his teeth. "It's not Mikoto-san's fault." He started, and hurriedly went on, "I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have said that. Your Captain saved Tatara. We will return the favor."  
  
Fushimi was observing them for a while darkly before he suddenly muttered under his breath. "If you want to help, surrender him to Scepter 4 once you got the guy." Fushimi tilted his head threateningly. Misaki relaxed a bit in relief; it seemed like an apology was accepted. However, after a long silent, he quietly replied, "I can't do that."  
  
"What? You're taking back your words now?"  
  
"He hurts Tatara, so we will punish him before we can hand him over to you."  
  
Fushimi clicked his tongue again and pondered for a bit before he decided. "Fine by me. It doesn't matter whether he is in one piece or not. He will be socially dead anyway." Misaki felt slight shudder on his spine as the latter snickered like a mad man in unruffled demeanor. It would seem that Scepter 4 had every intention to ignore the culprit's human right by force. "Don't break him too bad."  
  
Misaki glanced at Rikio and the latter stared at him in agreement, before the red-headed boy averted his eyes back to the stormy blue ones. "Can't promise that, but we will hand him alive."  
  
At that, Misaki whirled around and made his leave from the school yard along with his partner. Not long afterward, Seri arrived on the almost-to-be battlefield stage along with the other members with a curious long stare at the escaping backs of HOMRA's vanguard. "I thought you would fight Yatagarasu again."  
  
Fushimi averted his eyes, avoiding eye contact with his supervisor. "Well, I don't. Or do you want me to?" Seri shook her head and rewarded him with a rather sweet smile.  
  
"No, I'm glad that you behave well." Her smile did not last long. She began making her way back to HQ and Fushimi obediently followed by her side. "So, do you have anything to tell me?"  
  
Fushimi scratched his head and feigned his innocence. "What?"  
  
"Don't try to fool me." Seri glared at him lightly for his weak attempt to deceive her. "I know that you were hacking to school's data base, right? So, is he a student here?"  
  
Fushimi recalled the moment when he had finished cross-matching the Colorless King photo to the students' profiles. The screen disheartened him a bit; it showed 'No match found'. It seemed their investigation was still fruitless. He suddenly remembered Misaki's remark of them being unable to find the culprit because of their time wasted in regulations and those words infuriated him like a cold fire inside because he knew that it was the truth.  
  
"No, he is not one of the students here." He inertly revealed.

* * *

  
Seri clipped her golden hair up neatly and tidied her blue uniform as she prepared herself. Tracing her scabbard gently with her point finger, she solemnly composed herself to focus. This time without fail she would do her utmost ability to defeat the Colorless King. Fushimi had stationed himself on the outer perimeter, giving her support from outside, in case they failed to bring the Colorless King into custody, especially since Black Dog, Yatogami was with him.  
  
A few days had passed after their latest visit to Ashinaka Island when they had by coincidence captured a young man similar to Colorless King in one of surveillance in the city. It was all thanks to Fushimi. It was his forte to work his way with technology and it had helped her a lot in their pursuit of Colorless King. Now they had found him on the way to the empty soccer field. She still could not figure out the reason for them to be in such unoccupied place, but it would benefit her since she did not have to put up perimeter to ascertain the safety of citizens if they had to use force to contain the criminal.  
  
She took off from the container truck with surveillance monitors inside and stood in front of her squad. "Our target is Colorless King. Do not falter and stay focused. We will make him pay for what he has done to Scepter 4."  
  
The rest of the squad nodded with a strong fortitude as they all put their hands in their scabbards.  
  
As they made their way to the entrance of the sport dome, Seri glanced up to see the cloudless night sky without a glimmer of moonlight as it drizzled. The crystal droplets fell on her face, down to her chin, making her look as if she had cried. Or maybe it was true, since her heart was indeed crying ever since the fateful day she failed to protect her King. As long as the Colorless King roamed in the city without care, her shame for her failure to protect would keep tormenting her.  
  
"Wait for us, Captain. We will finish what we have failed that night so when you return, everything would be as peaceful as how you always want." She whispered under her breath as the night breeze carried her wish away to the far place. Not long after, she whirled on her heels and strode her way to the inner part of the dome.  
  
As she had expected, two young men stood peacefully in the middle of dark wet field. The silver-haired man, who she had been searching high and low, was slightly hidden by his crimson traditional umbrella. He seemed to be talking to his vassal, but she could not hear them due to the large distance between them. It was her chance; he was too occupied to notice her presence. She gave a signal to let her men to take position while some of them followed her to encounter the Colorless King. Finally, she had been waiting for this day. The day when she could finally meet that King again and this time she would not only observe from far. She at last was able to fight him herself.  
  
She raised her right hand to the air and suddenly all the lights on the dome were turned on the same time, blinding the wanted persons in the field. Seri walked slowly before the silver-haired student and Yatogami, standing in the way to their only exit. The blonde took a deep breath before she exclaimed loudly, "Yatogami Kuroh and his accomplice! This is Scepter4. In accordance with Article 2 of the Supernatural Regulation Exemption Act, we are taking you into custody!" She pressed a button on her PDA and a hologram of Scepter 4's crest appeared in the air as a proof of their identity.  
  
As expected from the criminal, the raven-head man instantly refused to humor them. She did not waste more time before she put her squad in battle stance. As she was about to make her first strike, she felt an instant interference from unknown, and suddenly she found herself in the middle of lively city junction in the daylight. "What?!"  
  
Her squads were as confused as she was and it appeared that their communication signal was also lost. Someone had hindered with their perceptions. "Could it be…a strain?" She thought to herself. To confirm her theory, she lightly touched on the passing pedestrian nearby and the businessman she was in contact with vanished into thin air with fluttering pink petals. She quickly organized perimeter seal and as soon as her order was executed, she could hear a surprised yelp from Domyoji and Kamo's direction. Almost in reflex, she threw a long vertical slash, just about hitting the Black Dog in the process. She prepared herself to engage Yatogami alone and waited for the man to take out his sword. However, her opponent did not even make a move to use his sword and he even told her off that he would not use his precious weapon to fight her. She harrumphed grumpily. How dare he to look down on her? Seri took another step as she retorted back as she thrust her sword, "Then, you shall be slain by the likes of me!" How she would love that. This man had hindered her from her delivering retribution to the Colorless King.  
  
Nevertheless, after exchanging blows with the Black Dog, she realized her limitation in fighting him in par. It seemed that the vassal of previous Colorless King was indeed not to be taken light of. She clicked her tongue in annoyance at her ineptitude but she would never back down from her battle even if the battle outcome looked grim. As the second commander, she had to live up to Scepter 4's reputation.  
  
On the outer perimeter, with a brief look, Fushimi was able to see how the battle would end. He would not doubt Seri's ability as a person in charge and her sword skill. Nonetheless, Yatogami's swordsmanship was highly exceeding her and it would be a matter of time before Seri failed to keep her defense and faltered on the battle field. If he joined in the battle, there would be no one left to guard the exit if Colorless King was able to slip through the squad inside and they would fail their mission atrociously. If only the Captain was here, they would quickly turn the table and outwitted them.  
  
He was still measuring the risk and benefit of his options when suddenly his squad yelped in surprise and stuttered as he looked up to the third commander. "C-commander! The Howling Flame!"  
  
Fushimi hurriedly turned his gaze to the monitor to confirm before he climbed off the container truck to verify with his own eyes. To his surprise, there was Suoh Mikoto walking lazily in the middle of the road to their direction with a few of his clansmen behind him. He threw off the cigarette between his lips carelessly to the brick road before he stubbed it out with his foot.  
  
Fushimi was slightly taken back by the view. He wondered if HOMRA actually tailed them to find the Colorless King's location or if it was all thanks to Anna. He unconsciously scratched the burn mark on his upper left chest. As much as he despised breathing the same air with the pretentious clan, the power of King here was extremely valuable in their current circumstance. As the Red King stood regal in front of him, Fushimi glared at the straight-faced King, "What do you want here?"  
  
Kusanagi took that moment to step in front of Mikoto as the representative with his phone on his hand. "I know that our clan is always in dispute. But now that we have the common enemy and we see that he brings so much trouble to you, we humbly offer you some assistance."  
  
Fushimi snorted at that and looked deadpan as he answered, "You mean by destroying public property in the progress? No thanks, you only give us trouble."  
  
Without waiting, Suoh sighed and ignored the young raven-haired commander and trotted his way to the entrance of the dome. Kusanagi slapped his forehead and exhaled, knowing his King so well that he would behave as such. "Mikoto, we should at least greet the public officers."  
  
Fushimi grumbled but he made no effort to stop Mikoto from getting his way. If anything, this would change the situation for better or for worse and as much as he detested it, Suoh Mikoto was the best bet he could have for a moment. While the Red King slipped in without putting much effort, Kusanagi gave a curt nod to the rest of HOMRA to follow their king and smiled at Fushimi diplomatically as he stayed behind. "Now, how could we assist you from here?"  
  
Fushimi looked at him menacingly before he gave in and made a gesture to let the amber-haired bartender to follow him. "I could use you in surveillance team."  
  
Kusanagi shrugged and followed as he replied half-heartedly, "I'm more than that, you know."

* * *

  
Seri failed to find her balance to avoid the striking fist from Yatogami and his attack was almost connected to her chin when the young vassal abruptly stopped his attack when a red Sword of Damocles floated in the air, with blazing red Aura engulfing it. The moment it made its entrance, bits by bits the illusion was taken down, returning the background to the green field. All the members in the dome were entranced by its magnificence despite some small cracks on it. Under the sword, Mikoto stood still, inhaling another cigarette deeply into his lungs with his hands in his waist.  
  
Yatogami hurriedly jumped back to keep their distance, knowing that this would be a difficult battle to come. He reached for his sword, prepared to pull it out any second the battle started as he stated his opponent's name to Isana, "The Red King, Suoh Mikoto." In contrary, Seri gasped at the sudden interference from HOMRA. How could she find herself in such worst situation? She already had difficulty in detaining the Black Dog, now she also had the violent Red King to handle in her hands. Surely no one could make her life easier.  
  
"Step away, woman." Mikoto started, without even looking at her. "I'll handle this."  
  
Seri was about to snap back when suddenly Yatagarasu pulled her hand to stop her getting in Mikoto's way. "We are here to help you. Kusanagi-san is outside, giving Saru a hand."  
  
She only raised an eyebrow but she did not comment further and stepped back on the line with the Red Clansmen. Mikoto took a deep breath of his smoke before he exhaled into the air and sudden red Aura burst out from his body into every direction, burning the illusion down. Even the strain cat returned into her naked human form, and she rapidly hid herself behind the silver-haired murderer. "So you are the one who causes this…," Mikoto murmured as his eyes rested on Neko.  
  
Without wasting any second of it, Mikoto rushed with a twisted smile in his face to deliver a blow of crimson flame toward Isana. Yatogami quickly defended the man with his scabbard and he barely was able to parry it. A sweat dropped down from his forehead and the vassal of Colorless King nearly yelled at Isana to make his run while he held Mikoto off. He used his shadow hand to disable the Scepter 4's members who were guarding the exit. "Go!"  
  
"But!" Isana did not have any chance to speak his mind as Neko quickly grabbed for his hand and dragged him to the exit.  
  
Mikoto only stared blankly at the running back of Isana, beyond Yatogami. He did not need to tell his Clansmen to chase them down. Yata quickly led them to hunt down the one who was hurting Totsuka. Only Yatogami, Mikoto, Seri and the rest of Scepter 4 were left in the field.  
  
"I see that you don't mind to die then." Sneering at the young man, Mikoto rushed forward and aimed his fist at Kuroh. Seri was in awe to see the lightning speed of his movement, quite comparable to Munakata. The latter quickly blocked his attack, but he was not fast enough to handle the rest of his flame assaults. The Red King almost wanted to praise the young vassal to be able to hold some of his fire, though one hit managed to land on Kuroh's stomach. The raven-haired man coughed a little blood with ragged breathing while Mikoto watched impassively. This fight was so child-like that he could not get his blood boiled. It was almost as if he was bullying the weak. With the back of his hand, the Black Dog wiped away the blood from his lips. Mikoto tilted his head a little bit as he stifled a yawn, "Won't you pull out your sword already?"  
  
Kuroh looked as if he was in dilemma to pull out his sword. Mikoto snorted without mercy and on the next second, he had vanished from Kuroh's view, jumping high in the air while directing his blows into Kuroh's head. Reflexively he dodged out of the way by jumping backward and small crater was formed on the ground where he was standing before, but Mikoto did not give him enough time to prepare himself to defend his next blow. His punch connected to Kuroh's cheek and a noise of cracking bone echoed so loudly that even Seri flinched at the sound.  
  
The Colorless King's vassal was lying on the ground on his stomach, struggled to recover from the hit and stand, but before he could do so, Mikoto treaded on his back forcefully and grabbed for Kuroh's head. "Now tell me, is he the assassin? Is he really the Colorless King?" Totsuka had told him that Munakata directed the young student as Colorless King on that fated night. Mikoto was surprised at first, but now he had the chance to confirm it.  
  
Kuroh swiftly whirled around to land a blow on Mikoto on slightest opening, but the latter was quick on his feet that he kicked hard the young man on the back of his left knee. The black head once again knelt on the ground, gritting his teeth to bear with the pain. Kuroh braved himself to look up at his enemy and said provocatively, "I am about to find out. No one will lay a hand on him until I figure it out."  
  
"I'm not a patient man," Mikoto started with a cold stare, "Is he really worth for you to risk your life?"  
  
The opponent in front of him briefly smiled almost in pathetic manner that Mikoto was ready to put him out of his misery, when suddenly the lights from the arena were out and they were left in the darkness. Mikoto blinked twice to adjust his sight with the sudden environment change and from the corner of his eyes, there was a glimmer of white light enveloping Isana from the seating area of the stadium. He stood out so much like a firefly in the dark. The red-head King growled happily at the sight. "So you're also ready to die?"  
  
Kuroh looked anguished upon the sight of Isana coming back for him. The fool had wasted his effort in stalling time to let Isana escape and now that nothing stood between Mikoto and Isana, without doubt, the Red King would slaughter him without a shred of compassion.  
  
"Well, I guess I can't just leave my friends behind, can I?" Isana smiled sadly as he witnessed the terrible injuries his friend had. The leader of HOMRA impassively laid his eyes on his prey. Somehow Isana looked different to the one in the video; a little bit meek and more like a liar instead of a murderer, but he decided as long as they shared similar face, he would not bother with the details.  
  
The silver haired man put his hands together in front of his face, making an apology gesture. "I'm sorry Kuroh for lying to you all this time! The truth is…This is who I am." A glow of white light appeared from his hand, and it grew larger into a form of a sword, mimicking the Sword of Damocles basked in the blinding light as it rose high in the air to Mikoto's surprise. Apparently he was not the only one who was astounded by sudden shocking sight that everyone nearby tilted their heads up to observe the new sword joining in the air. In the next instant, Isana threw a wide-ranged light attack toward Mikoto that he quickly parried it off with his Red Aura. Their powers collided against each other, defending and attacking at the same time. Taking his chance, Kuroh hastily got himself out of Mikoto's restrain and landed a blow on his cheek before he made his run toward the exit.  
  
The Auras swirled against each other in equal strength and vanished into thin air. In a blink of eye, Isana had evaporated, leaving only the pink lights and flower petals in the wind. Mikoto brushed away the trickle of blood from a cut on his lips when Kuroh hit him and spat out the blood. He was quiet for a moment, trying to contain his anger. Not only Colorless King tricked him like a fool with such illusion, the Black Dog even managed to land a hit on him. He closed his eyes for a brief moment before his Aura blazed brighter around him and he started to join the hunting game on his slow pace. Seri was about to hold him up from going berserk, but the bloodlust look in Mikoto's expression stopped her.  
  
"Ma'am, should we stop him?" Her squad decided to ask. A slight tremble could be heard from her voice as she answered, "No. Leave him be." The rest of Scepter 4 nodded in acknowledgement and sheathed back their swords before they assembled together to assist the squads on outer perimeter.  
  
Meanwhile, Kuroh had united with Isana and made his way through the outer perimeter of Scepter 4 and the group of Howling Flame. Even escaping was taking most of his energy since he had to disable HOMRA's members as well to make his way out. Neko had been exerting her ability by manipulating the sensory perception of people around her to help them flee that her face was a bit pale and exhausted. They had been running for quite some distance away from the dome, but their greatest threat was a King, so they could not stay relaxed.  
  
However, even breathing started to feel painful on Kuroh's chest that he leaned with his back against the wall, sliding down to seat on the dirty and small dark alley. He would not let people to see his weakness that he calmly told them that he would be fine. As they waited, Isana solemnly brought up the topic of Neko's ability as a strain and as a result, Kuroh had to explain to him that there was highly possible that Isana's memory was all fabricated, manipulated by none other than the strain pink-haired girl. Nevertheless, there was no fear or misery on Isana's face as he learned the truth. He even inquired Neko to return all of his memories to him, despite the consequences he might have to bear.  
  
And the scenes of his past all were all rewound like a scroll of a boring movie of his daily life up to when he first met the cat strain on the full moon night on a mattress inside Ashinaka's gymnastic storage room. With a gentle persuasion, Neko once again used her power and he was shocked at his own memories.  
  
The setting abruptly changed into a windy bright night. Barely hanging on a plane's exit, Isana could feel the harsh blowing wind toying with his small figure which was floating in the high sky with no ground under his feet. He could sense the fear grasping his heart as he was about to fall from a flying plane. Normally, any human would instantly die from falling from such height. He started to lose the feeling and strength on his hands when suddenly a silver-haired handsome man stood in front of him and sneered maliciously as he stomped on Isana's hands, "Bye!"  
  
On that instant, Isana snapped open his eyes and looked at his friends with perplexity apparent in his face. He could feel like finding a missing piece of a puzzle, but he could not recognize its shape. "Who…was that?"

 


	6. Ticking Clock

Note: Probably there are tons of hints of unintentional multi-pairings in this fics, such as Mikoto/Anna, Reishi/Seri, Reishi/Fushimi, Kusanagi/Mikoto, Mikoto/Totsuka everywhere, because I just love to write my little guilty pleasures, showing that our beloved Kings are loved and are capable to love lots of people. LOL.

Thank you AO3 for not being banned in my country! I dunno how...but they have banned ff.net. Damn...

* * *

" _One day you will ask me which is more important? My life or yours? I will say mine and you will walk away not knowing that you are my life_." - **Kahlil Gibran**

* * *

 

Kusanagi sighed as he thoroughly wiped clean his beloved crystal wine glass collections. Ever since the day on the stadium, Mikoto had been in the worst mood ever. While they tried to apprehend the Colorless King with all their might, even Scepter 4 and HOMRA stood no chance in capturing the wanted trio. The perception manipulation of the strain girl disrupted their line of communications, causing lack of coordination among themselves and even injured Black Dog posed to be great problem in getting a hold on the evil King. Mikoto had crumbled down half of the stadium into pile of dust with a single strike of his fire storm (Seri sent him quite a furious objection by voice message afterward, to his dismay) and yet they were able to slip through them. And now they were back to square one of their investigation.

Since the night when Totsuka and Blue King had their incidents, there were black rings around Mikoto's eyes. It had been days since he had his peaceful sleep and his lack of sleep worsened after the night in the stadium. Kusanagi did not know what kind of nightmare that regularly haunted his dreams, but he was convinced that the Red King was quite concerned of losing control of his power and unintentionally devoured everything he loved and vowed to protect in the moment of recklessness and false bliss of supremacy. Mikoto was currently too absorbed in his rage that he could not contain the flame inside his soul and now he had no one to turn in case the worst case happened. Mikoto must have realized it completely, and that must be the whole reason for his restless slumber. He was treading on the thin line, and was spending extra energy in being extremely careful not to lose himself even in his imaginary worlds.

When the nightmare took quite a toll on Mikoto's mind, Anna would slip inaudibly under the blanket to sleep on Mikoto's side, hoping him to share the pain and his fear to her. Mikoto would simply rest his hand on her silvery hairs, before he feigned a sleep just to soothe her. She noticed his kindness, and her heart cried for that. But Anna would also pretend not to become aware of his sweet lies so Mikoto would not be concerned for her. Even if he was on the path to Hell, she needed to be there to tell him that she would be his faithful companion, and he was not alone, no matter where their destination was. And with that, Mikoto would wield all of his willpower so not to lose his self-control and drag her down to annihilation along with him.

By the end of the day, none of them actually got a wink of sleep. He was certain that the red-head man would find some solace in her affection. But he could not say with confident that her little dam would be able to hold Mikoto's flame for forever.

The next day after those agitated nights, the red-head man would be nowhere to be found around HOMRA's comfortable cushions or his favorite nap spots. Kusanagi had his suspicion that his King had gone to Gold King's residence for more than obvious reason, however he never tried to pry on. The amber-haired bartender would not comment on his constant disappearance either, since he always looked much calmer as he returned so it must have good influence to him. Any scrap of comfort Mikoto needed, they would give it to him.

It pained Kusanagi to realize that on this moment, he could not do much to extinguish the source of Mikoto's anxiety. His King had always feared his power and what it was capable of, but he had been more indulgent to himself when he found his restrain. Munakata Reishi had always been Mikoto's emergency brake for more than once, to Kusanagi's dislike. As much as Kusanagi resented for not being able to help Mikoto during those critical moments, he knew that he had no such resolve to harm Mikoto in order to stop him. HOMRA would always be MIkoto's solace; to put comfort to his fire and let it lit warm. But when the fire went wild, only water could fight against fire to douse it.

Now that they had run out of water, they could only pray that the smoldering fire was not ignited.

* * *

 

Kuroh shook his head in disapproval. "It is reckless! You realize that he has been putting a high bounty over your head, right?" He grabbed the younger man's shoulder firmly and stared directly into his amber eyes. "Before you could even talk to him, he would kill you!"

Isana gave a little smile before he hid his expression under the shade of his red umbrella. "I have to do this." His voice quivered a bit as he declared his determination, "I don't remember much, but I'm sure I have to clear everything up to restart my life with a clean slate. Or else I could not even move forward."

The pink-haired strain embraced his limb with her slender arms, trying to show her support for his decision. Isana turned his head to her and rewarded her with a thankful smile. The black-haired vassal could only sigh in defeat and rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the growing headache to no avail. "So what is your plan?"

He whirled around with his umbrella blocking the sunlight behind him with a lopsided smile. "Isn't it obvious? I need Red King's phone number."

"Can't we just contact the Blue Clansmen instead? They have more authority in Shizume City's security." Kuroh suggested for an alternative. As much as he was against the idea of involving either Blue or Red Clan, it was always better not to be related to a King and currently only Blue Clan did not have their King. It seemed the rumor was to be true that he was injured mortally from an incident involving the old Isana Yashiro since so far Blue King had never been seen on the field though Red King recently was quite active.

The silver-haired student only shook his head calmly as he twirled his umbrella. "It won't do. If what you have said is true, that the man on that plane is truly the first, Silver King, then they would not even have power or courage to get an audience with him without using another King's authority."

"But still, what makes you think that he would even listen to you?"

Isana was quiet for a moment before he finally answered firmly, "if I have offered myself in exchange, they would be less likely to decline, no?"

Kuroh was about to open his mouth to retort, but Isana put his finger on his lips. It brought slight blush on Colorless King's vassal's cheeks. "It doesn't mean that I will surrender myself willingly without making things clear first. It's just a tactic to get Red Clans to move."

The Black Dog looked so displeased that he wished he could knock some sense into Isana's mind that he was playing a dangerous game and the bet he had stacked up was carelessly too high. But the possible successor of Colorless King would not change his plan. This man was quite an enigma to him. At first, he thought of him nothing more than an evil King that he had to get rid of, according to the last will of his previous master. When he encountered him for the first time, he thought of him nothing but a liar. Now that he had acquainted with him for several, precious days, he found him to be the most mysterious riddle he had to solve by far. Isana was indeed a smart liar, with excellent silver-tongue capability. But he was also compassionate, and seemed to be a lonely existence, wanting nothing much more than the presence of others. It was difficult for him to think of such a man as a cold-heart perpetrator, who was rumored to have had tried to kill HOMRA's member and injured the Blue King. Nevertheless, he still could not figure out what kind of person Isana Yashiro was and how he would think.

He closed his eyes and exhaled, "Consider it done. Just don't get killed before I finish my evaluation of you."

Isana replied him with his rarest smile of gratitude, to Kuroh's embarrassment. "Thank you, Kuroh."

* * *

 

Anna dropped her crimson marbles on the city map with Kusanagi by her side when suddenly the older male received a phone call. The little strain did not even avert her eyes from the map, concentrating fully to use her ability to locate their target. The red marbles circled around leisurely on the map, as if substituting her eyes to search every nook of the city. They kept moving around without focus, trying to find the faint trail of the enemy.

Kusanagi was quiet for a moment when he listened from the caller before he chuckled softly, "So they finally make a move? I thought they would be smarter enough to remain low as we seek for them."

Yata leaned on the wall of a small, dark alley, as he replied to his phone. "Yeah, they said that it was the Black Dog who attacked them."

"I wonder what their intention is…"

The red vanguard pondered for a moment before he decided to give him all information he knew. "The Black Dog only took their phones though. Maybe they are trying to contact us?"

Kusanagi walked to the long table in his bar and sat on one of the empty stool, tapping his finger on his chin while another hand still held the phone next to his ear. While Yata had made a valid reason, but the risk would not outweigh the benefit, no matter how he saw it. "They know that we are putting a high bounty over his head. It will be unreasonable unless they need us for a favor."

Yata pulled out a small note from his pocket and wondered if it was a message. "They left a message though. It says 14:00"

Kusanagi brushed his hair with his fingers in frustration. "Maybe they will do something on that hour. Thanks for your hard work, Yata. I'll call you later."

"Sure." And the line went dead.

Kusanagi flipped the cover of his phone and walked to Anna's side. "You can stop, Anna."

She stopped abruptly on her attempt and turned her face to him questioningly. Her big, ruby eyes never failed to always enchant him with their mesmerizing light. He smiled gently and offered his hand in front of her like a proper gentleman, to lead her to Mikoto's room where he would high likely nap. "I think he will try to contact us to get close to Mikoto. Let's just wait with him, 'kay?"

She nodded a little and obediently let herself being led to second floor to Mikoto's bedroom.

The wooden stairs creaked a little as they climbed up to reach the hallway on second floor. On the end of the hallway, the bright light leaked out from open room. When they were close to the door of the most corner chamber, Kusanagi let go of her hand, to let the little strain make her short sprint to Mikoto's side before him. The amber-haired bartender chuckled at her innocently adorable behavior, like a kitten looking for its master eagerly.

When he entered the room, there were already three people inside. Mikoto laid his head on Totsuka's lap, while the latter was also in the middle of reading his novel, thus he placed his book on Mikoto's forehead. The red king did not bother to push aside the book out of his face, so Totsuka concluded that Mikoto only seek for a quiet company, and he resumed his reading. The young man flipped his book at his own leisure pace in tranquil silence, while the other arm was still immobile in its cast. His hair glowed like a golden halo as the daylight stream inside the room through the glass window. The youngest strain had just joined the little party, and she climbed up the bed before she curled up next to Mikoto, while leaning her head slightly to Totsuka's thigh.

The golden-head man laughed quietly at their behaviors, seeking for warmth and closure while napping like domestic cats. Totsuka then raised his eyes to meet Kusanagi with a gentle smile. "How about you join us on this little bed?"

Kusanagi snorted in good humor and walked inside. "Nah, it will be a pain in the ass to buy a new one if this one breaks."

The young man then laughed at his response and tapped lightly on Mikoto's forehead with the cover of his book. He gazed down at the crimson-haired man, and chided him gently. "You heard him, King. This bed won't survive our weights."

Mikoto only replied with a soft groan before he rose from his slumber and sat down on the edge of the bed on Totsuka's side. His eyes were still half-closed as he was not fully awake from his nap. As much as he would like to let him taking his sweet time to return to reality, Kusanagi did not have that much time to announce their discovery since it was almost the hour mentioned in the small paper left by Yatogami Kuroh. Without much regret, he closed the door behind him and relayed what he had just heard from Yata. "The Black Dog appears in the city."

And with that single line, Mikoto abruptly turned his head to face Kusanagi and he was fully alert. "What?" Mimicking his response, Anna also pulled her body up from the bed and put her legs dangling on the bed side.

Kusanagi leaned his back on the wooden door and flipped out his phone. "He confronts one of our people, takes his phone and leaves us a note with 14:00 written on it. I don't know what they're trying to accomplish by doing so though. I assume they want to tell you something."

The atmosphere in the chamber was suddenly suffocating that Totsuka decided to ease down some tension by standing up in front of his family on the bed and patting on both Mikoto and Anna's heads alternately. "Come on, don't be so serious. No one would want to talk to you if you put such murderous look, King!"

Mikoto threw him a short glare that the latter put a hand in front of his chest in fake defense, as he laughed without a shred of fear apparent in his face. Sometimes Kusanagi was more than amazed of the blonde's courage in facing Mikoto's explosive temper. He was never afraid to speak of his mind, even if that would earn him a painful lump on his head.

Totsuka reproached him sternly with a smile on his lips. "You will not gain anything if you just brashly act. Let's talk to him first."

"He hurt you," Mikoto muttered under his breath.

Totsuka spread his unwound arm optimistically as he answered back, "It doesn't matter! He might have a twin brother or a clone that actually did this. We might have chased down the wrong guy all this time. And maybe this guy is actually a good guy who wants to help us."

Kusanagi coughed weakly at that. "Totsuka, I think you read too much crime novels…"

The blonde then enthusiastically strode to him and grabbed the bartender's shoulder almost too seriously for a person like Totsuka. His eyes twinkled with passion. "The detective should never be deceived by what he wanted to see."

Anna absentmindedly clapped her hands for his sudden exclaim at improper time. Kusanagi stared at the young girl in distress, who only replied him with an innocent look, as if saying 'Why? He is making a good statement.' It was foolish of him to think that Anna would help him to knock some sense on Totsuka's naïve brain. The one principal that all HOMRA would know was that Anna would always side with Totsuka. And Mikoto.

The silence was almost unbearable for a moment before Mikoto finally sighed in defeat and pulled out his phone out of his pocket. He simply stared at it for moment in conflict, before he thrust it to Kusanagi. "Fine. But you talk."

Kusanagi exhaled, surrendering to his fate being the mediator. Again. But it was always his specialization since he was doing better job at conversation a lot better than his King. "Here goes nothing." He took Mikoto's phone and leaned back against the wall as they waited for the time to pass.

Without wasting any second of it, Totsuka flipped open again his book and started to read without care of current situation while Anna scooted closer to him to see what had been occupying his mind all this noon. Ignoring those two, Mikoto lied down again on the bed and feigned some sleep behind them. The blond bartender himself started to play with his phone to spend time, sending plain chat to random girls he did not really recall their faces (because Seri was too busy these days, she declared that she would ignore all his advances and text messages in such cold manner).

Ticking clock in the room was too loud to ignore when silence resided on it. After minutes passing almost painfully, the needles of the clock pointed at twelve and two. Totsuka glanced on his King's tense back, knowing perfectly that waiting was getting on the latter's nerve. However, one minute had passed and nothing yet happened. Not even a call from the other members had reached them.

Kusanagi was about to talk to them that it was probably a hoax when suddenly the phone in his hand vibrated, to his surprise. The three of them instantly stared at him, almost saying to him to take the phone call wordlessly. He nodded back to them and flipped up the phone, putting it on speaker mode so his King could also listen to their conversation. "Yes, this is Kusanagi speaking."

A soft voice belonged to a young teenage boy could be heard as expected. "Ah? Kuroh, what should I do? I think I have dialed the wrong number …"

The rest of them looked confused. The caller seemed to be rather absentminded to speak so nonchalantly in such serious situation, to a King no less. Anna tilted her head almost in wonder since his voice did not even sound malice. But Mikoto could easily recognize the owner of that voice that his eyes glowered like an aggravated lion.

Kusanagi coughed for an awkward moment and replied politely, "Yes, this is Suoh Mikoto's phone. But he is not available for a moment, so his phone is in my possession. Do you want to leave a message?" While answering, he typed some messages on his own phone and delivered it to the other Red Clansmen to use their GPS to pinpoint the culprit's location.

"Hmmm..." The respondent trailed off for a bit, that the bartender was almost afraid that the latter would turn the call off immediately before they could even locate his location from GPS on the stolen phone. "Oh well, it's already troublesome for Kuroh to get me this phone, so I better do my work, right? Then, could you please let me talk to him?"

"I told you that he is currently busy. You may talk to me."

"You are Kusanagi Izumo, the right-hand of Red King, right? I think, it's okay if I just talk to you." The young student asked cheerily. Somehow his airy spirit reminded him of someone who was currently sitting on the bed in front of him with his book on his lap. Totsuka only returned his glance with a questioning look.

"I'll keep it brief. There is a man in an airship, who is directly involved in that attempted murder investigation, especially regarding my treatment as a suspect when I know nothing about it."

"Well, I think we have more than enough proof of your guilt, don't you think?" The blonde sneered automatically. "To tell us that you know nothing of being the perpetrator is ridiculous. You even try to pin the blame on other person who is not related to the case, that's really low."

He could hear the rustling sound of clothes from the other side of the phone call. The culprit must have shrugged at his accusation. "Well, you may not believe me after watching that video record. But I speak the truth when I tell you that I know nothing about it. And I actually have an alibi that I was in the presence of that man in the airship that night."

Kusanagi was absolutely not prepared for the conversation to take a turn to this. Why did he suddenly speak of the legendary first and Silver King? "Don't you know who that man is in the airship?"

The latter chuckled as he answered back carelessly. "You might say I got the crash course on him."

"Then it would be foolish of you to claim your innocence just by telling us that you are acquainted with such important person on that night." Kusanagi fixed his dark eyeglasses and tried not to sound threatening enough to scare the young student. "It would be best if you just turn yourself in and take responsibility for your mistake."

"Hmm…I doubt you will let me live long enough to scream my innocence." Isana stopped for a brief moment before he finally attempted to negotiate. "That's why I'll surrender myself if you help me to meet that man in the airship. How is that?"

Kusanagi glanced toward Mikoto's golden eyes and his King only watched at him impassively, as if asking why he would keep the conversation when they should just chase and pin him down. Without doubt, the Red King had no interest in bargaining with the culprit. But the blonde could not let the opportunity to slip. Some things were better done in negotiation instead of in battlefield.

"I can't help but wonder why you would go to such extent to meet that man. I should tell you in advance that your demand is too high, for a criminal like you. I'm pretty sure that you and your accomplices will turn your back from your promise once we have fulfilled your demand." Kusanagi retorted almost in hurry. He was not even sure why he would even let himself to be talked into negotiation by this evil man, but his gut feeling told him that he was making a good judgment if they want to capture their prey.

Isana could only laugh weakly and scratched his head timidly at that. "So little trust, but maybe I got carried away."

Kusanagi was about to trust his mind and cancel off their deal when he felt a tug on his sleeve of the arm which held the PDA. Totsuka stared at him with firm determination, signaling for him to agree with Isana's term. He watched at the naïve man almost exasperatedly. Even Mikoto seemed to be cynical to compromise with the one he had tried so hard to find and kill. Even if they did agree to his request, how should HOMRA accomplish that? It would be a different story for Scepter 4 since they had legal authority over the whole Shizume City's security and the Blue King was well-known among HOMRA to be the true head of state, under the firm surveillance of Gold King, instead of the prime minister. He would easily talk it to the Gold King and tweak some rules to his benefit. But for a small organization like HOMRA in political world, they had no card to get an audience with Silver King officially and it would mean slavery days for him again to do it through illegal manner without getting captured by official officers.

Totsuka was impatient by Kusanagi's delayed decision that he hastily snatched the phone from his hand and answered rashly, "We accept your term!"

The responder was stunned for a moment. "Huh? Ehh…who is this?"

Kusanagi immediately attempted to take back the phone from Totsuka's possession while being mindful of his wounds, but the lean man was quick to evade him and they started the chasing game inside the small room. Mikoto sighed in annoyance while Anna smiled at the sight. This was supposed to be a grave situation, yet the atmosphere certainly was not felt like one and Totsuka was the one responsible for it.

"Forgive my rudeness, I'm Totsuka Tatara. I'm supposed to be dead that night if you were to succeed if you are truly the culprit."

"Ehh?!" The young student nearly yelled in surprise on the phone. "You are still alive!? Thank goodness…I thought you were dead that they were all hunting me down."

"Well, I'm not the only one hurt that night, so King was angry." Totsuka laughed as he pushed panicking Kusanagi away with his leg since his other arm was still fixated. From the corner of his eyes, he could feel the rising irritation out of embarrassment emanating from Mikoto, so he decided to shut up. "Anyway, I said that we would help you to question the man in the airship. In exchange, you and your friend will turn yourself in and tell us the truth on that night, right?"

"Yeah. That's the deal."

Kusanagi felt his own phone vibrating, and read the messages that they were about to corner him in a Tokyo Expressway. He gave a curt nod to Totsuka and the blonde pouted a bit before he returned the PDA to him. The line went dead when the phone was in his hand.

"Why would you strike a deal with him? He will just deceive us like he always does." Kusanagi crossed the PDA back to Mikoto's face before the red-haired man took and pocketed it silently. "And now thanks to your blabbering mouth, he also finds out that you are still alive and might try to hurt you again."

Totsuka shrugged and flopped down on the bed beside Anna. "We don't know for sure. If he does try again, I will be the bait so we can capture him. Even I, myself want to know what has happened on that night since I cannot remember. Maybe we can interrogate him if we can arrange a meeting with him."

"Are you crazy? We won't let you meet him, that's for sure." Kusanagi jabbed the blonde's forehead a little bit too hard that he had intended as a warning. "Now you just stay still here with Anna."

Not long after their arguments, his cell phone kept ringing. From the caller address, it should be from Red Clans. He hurriedly pressed the accept button and instinctively said, "Yes, Kusanagi speaking."

"Sorry, Kusanagi-san…They are using dummy. We got tricked."

He scratched his hair and sighed with a little smile. "Well, he is smart. Just return to the bar." After he put away his phone, he shrugged and walked closer to the edge of the bed with a guilty tone. "Sorry, Mikoto. They get away again."

The red-haired king lithely moved out of the bed and made his way out through the door. As he passed by his best friend, he tapped lightly on his shoulder as if saying 'don't worry about it'. Kusanagi quietly let him leave while Totsuka tilted his head and smiled at them.

* * *

 

"I would have to refuse that proposal." Seri nearly sighed with a resigned look, so much like she wanted nothing more but slept and forgot all her troubles away in her dreams. "I do not have such authority, even as the second commander of Scepter 4."

With the free time she currently had, she understood well that she should be on her home now and took any little sleep she could get instead of idling and drinking her alcohol in her favored bar (since only here she could get her personal favorite drink with extra red beans). Izumo watched her sympathetically, and resumed wiping his crystal glasses. "Anyway, you should get some rest, Seri. You look like you are going to collapse anytime soon."

The blonde beauty closed her eyes for a brief moment and her lips quirked up into a soft smile. Izumo immediately stopped whatever he had been doing in order to observe the rare, pretty sight and burned into his memories. Seri dressed rather plain, a silky white dress up to her thigh, yet her beauty would not pale in her choice of fashion. A simple pearl necklace adorned her ivory neck, gleaming like moonstones under the gold light on the bar table. Her golden, wavy hair fell on the sides of her face and to her naked, white shoulders. He could smell faintly of florid scent from her, making him wonder if he she washed her hair before she came here. And thinking of her that way actually embarrassed him.

He stole a glance on his regular customer who currently was taking her sweet time to rest her eyes. There were pretty girls surrounding him, constantly pestering him, but none of them was as intriguing as Seri and none of them could make him feel something more than a flicker of interest like Seri did. Her demeanor was often said as a cold woman, though he understood very well that she was instead quite passionate with every aspects of her life like a burning fire he always loved. If only she was not too fascinated by Blue King's charisma, he wondered if she would join HOMRA. Such idea did not fit well even for him though, since she was too responsible and virtuous with her justice to join the Red Clan.

The current Seri appeared to be fragile, as if she was walking on the thin strand that was about to snap and his protective side instinctively took over. It took all his moderation not to embrace her right away and earned him a slap on his cheek. Izumo knew the importance of her King to boost her confidence and her fortitude to serve the public without asking for reward. However, the Blue King was no longer on her side to support her dignity, and he was not there to inspire her or to praise for her work. Izumo sometimes wondered if she was actually considering of Munakata Reishi as a respected figure much like a father that she was trying so hard to please and be acknowledged of. Such thought actually made him pretty jealous. There was nothing more beautiful in the world than being the most important person in his beloved's world.

Nonetheless for their romantic matter, he guessed that he had to share that world after all, just like how she had to share his love for her and HOMRA. But then no one could live in such a small world, existed with only two, no matter how you loved the other anyway.

Breaking their tranquility time, he leaned forward above the bar table which had been separating them, and brushed lightly her soft cheek with the back of his hand as their forehead nearly collided into each other. "Seri, but that person seems to be related to the case on that night. Mikoto has agreed to be responsible if problem arises with the Gold King, but we cannot approach the plane on the sky without getting shot by self-defense force first or your help."

A pair of blue eyes fluttered open and gazed down into his depth of soul. Izumo could see all the fear and hesitation in her mind. "I-I cannot sullen the name of Scepter 4 when he is not present. It's not my role to decide, Izumo. And this is not such a trivial matter." She did not move away to distance herself, so Izumo deliberately allowed himself to take her cold hands in his to give her some self-assurance.

"Then you will not take any liability for it. That should do for you, right?"

"What?" She tried to pull away her hands from his grasp in her surprise, but he would not let her go before he could finish his words.

"I'm saying that we only need you to allow us to steal some of your helicopters."

* * *

 

"Why should you be here anyway?" The red vanguard glowered at his nemesis. He did not understand when he started to bark at his ex-friend impulsively on sight. Back then on the high school, his eyes would always wander to catch his figure and follow him devotedly like he was his only world. Now he could only see red whenever his once-best friend appeared before him.

Saruhiko glanced at Misaki for a brief moment before he fixed his uniform and flippantly ignored his rage. "Commander may have told us to let you hooligans take some of our helicopters for a desperate mission, but I will not let you destroy our resources because of your idiocy. Scepter 4 members will pilot our helicopters. You only have to enjoy the ride."

"What the hell?! Who are you calling stupid!?" Misaki abruptly grabbed the black-haired teen's collar.

Saruhiko sneered and fixed his eyeglasses, completely unfazed by the intimidation. "Well, do you even know how to pilot a helicopter, Mi-sa-kiii?"

"Urgh…" Misaki reflexively took a step backward, indirectly giving the answer that the latter had asked. He wanted so much to punch of that smug-smiling face. "It would be as easy as in the game! I only need some practice!"

The blue soldier slapped his forehead and sighed soundly. "…I'll fly it." Before the man of his interest could retort back, he added quickly with sharp glare visible through his eyeglasses. "And that's final."

The red-haired teen stomped away in rage; nevertheless he made his way to the inside of his appointed helicopter. He crossed his hands in front of his chest, and a look of grudge was quite evident on his face though he made sure not to even spare a look at the black-haired teen. Saruhiko only snorted with a little laugh and followed his ex-friend.

 

* * *

 

His long silver hair glimmered under the light of full moon casted through the glass window of his plane. A wicked smile appeared in his handsome face and with obvious glee; and he grabbed the smooth-skin of a woman's hand in his. He swiftly twirled the broken female doll in his arms and they danced like an insane couple in a mad party. As his feet tapped on the floor, several screens lighted up, showing the city's night view.

He was quite entertained with this sudden change of event. Finally the Blue Clan made his move, and he wondered if the Blue King actually survived the fall. Nevertheless he should probably not be able to put up much resistance if he was chasing him now due to the damage on that calamity night. They might be Kings, but their bodies were still mortals, except for the first and only Silver King. There was no way the Blue King could recover from his injury with just several weeks.

The silver-haired man embraced the woman in his arms and smiled at his brilliance. He might have failed to kill that red clan member, but that man had served him well for his success to inflict critical injury on Blue King. Now it would be his best chance to cause chaos and get that Blue Aura as his own. After all, the Red Clan was probably too occupied in chasing the real Silver King by now. Once he had consumed the power of Blue King, he would have equal footing in fighting the Red King to weaken him and possess his Red Aura as well. His wish for world domination would no longer out of his reach.

The sudden bright white light streamed inside the plane through the glasses and blinded the plane owner. Instead of being afraid, the silver-haired man thrust his arms up to the air with a happy cackle as if the light was for his party. "Closer! Closer!"

And without a shred of tact, he pressed the button and the loud sound of explosion followed afterward as if a big firework had just blasted into the distant air. The historical plane soon was engulfed in fire as it fell and crashed down to the earth it had departed for years. The silver glasses shattered and rained upon him, scratching him all over his fair skin. "Tsk, as I expected. This body no longer possesses his immortality." He talked to himself in annoyance and glanced up at the bright, white moon with utter joy. "Now, let's start the party! We've been postponing it way too long! I'm coming for you, my dear Blue princess."


	7. Forget-me-not

_"Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else."_ ― Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven

* * *

 

The Red King stood before the tall building, and clicked his tongue in annoyance. Just several hours after the incident of crashing Himmelreich, the rabbit guardians visited HOMRA and sent him an official invitation directly from the Gold King. How that old man could find out right away that it was all Red Clan's crime, he could not- would not even bother to guess. Kusanagi took a deep inhale of his cigarette, filling his lungs with nicotine to help with his nervousness. After all, it was never a good sign to be called upon by the general who was the sole supporting pillar of this country for almost a decade. "Mikoto, be careful."

The red-haired king gave a short wave and started to climb up the stairs in front of the building, leaving his friends behind. "Don't wait up," he notified them. He did not feel much anxiety, since he had been a regular guest in here for visiting a certain blue-haired king, in contrary to his people. The invitation by Gold King was like killing two birds with a stone for him. After the meeting, he should have his daily visit to the medical ward. The instant his foot stepped on the marble floor of the second king's residence, a pair of his clansmen wearing rabbit masks painted in gold and black robes stood in front of him in silence, as if waiting for him to follow them to the appointed chamber.

The moment he entered the elevator and it went up, he could feel a strain's power of manipulation surging inside the whole building. To his amazement, the Gold King never ceased to overlook to manipulate his sensory thus he could never figure out the real layout of this residence. Every time he went to visit, the structure inside constantly changed, therefore he never bothered to remember. There was always a rabbit guard led his way to the medical wing, so he did not attempt to provoke the Gold King by erasing the manipulation influence.

The whole trip was spent in suffocating silence, but Mikoto only yawned in boredom. As the consequence of this sensory manipulation, they had to go in circles to reach their destination. But as a guest, he would obey the rules of the residence landlord. After fifteen minutes wasted on walking on endless maze of hallway, they finally reached the familiar sliding paper door. As if the man inside could sense their presence, he invited them in without any necessities for them to knock to notice him of their arrival, "come in."

The rabbit guards knelt before the paper door and opened it for the Red King to make his entrance and slide it shut behind him as he had entered the chamber. Inside the wide room, there was only the Gold King and the Red King, as well as a coffin made by glass. From distant, Mikoto could guess what or who was exactly inside the casket. The Gold King's Aura was obviously not friendly, or to be honest, he could sense slight resentment inside his eyes. Mikoto pocketed his hands in his jeans and sighed. Guess the rumor was true that the Silver King and Gold King were once acquainted and they had lived such long years. If the old man was being petty, this meeting would not be as peaceful as he had wished. The Gold King was not his opponent, and he had no intention of forcing himself to the critical brink of his Weissman level on this man. He still needed this man standing to protect the unconscious Blue King under his wing, as he went on his retribution.

He stood on the platform across the white-haired king calmly and their surrounding abruptly shifted into celestial setting. There were planets and stars surrounding them, or circling around Mikoto menacingly in their fleeting beauty. With a low voice like a suppressed growl, the Gold King asked him, "I ask thee, hath thou come to fight or to talk?"

Mikoto stared at him with a bored look and shrugged with his hands still in his pockets and answered nonchalantly, "As you can see, I don't even lift a hand against you."

Daikoku narrowed his eyes and summoned his celestial power before him. The planets formed in front of his eyes and without wasting any second, those planets rushed to Mikoto with pure intention to harm. Without moving his hands, Mikoto took a step forward and a tall fire wall blazed before him, burning the planets into ashes and the burst of grayish dust passed through him. From ashes, the planets reformed themselves and surrounded him all around again. Mikoto glanced on those planets and threw a look on the Gold King before he extinguished his flame. After watching Mikoto in his defenseless state and his intention not to fight, Daikoku finally lowered his defense and erased his celestial power. The background had reverted back to the usual chamber, colored in gold and furnished by tatami.

Mikoto hated to waste anymore of his time and he cut the chase quickly while trying to mind his manner. "I'll not beat around the bush. Yes, Red Clan was responsible for the incident last night."

The man holding highest authority of the country glowered at him with growing loathing. "For what reason, did you attack the first King?"

"Before we get to there, I find it baffling. Isn't he the rumored Silver and Immortal King, which never ages? Don't you think that something went amiss that he is dead, right now, right here?"

Daikaku made no comment on his point, but his posture was indeed slightly at ease. With the brilliant mind as his, he had considered that point that he even wondered how his friend could be deceased before him though his power as a Silver King would not let any external factors to harm him. That would only mean one thing: this body that he had collected did not belong to the Silver King. There was no mistake that the body was real, so it would mean it was the soul that did not match up. Nevertheless, he did not intend to reveal anything to Mikoto. The latter did not look like he was asking for an answer either, but simply affirming his suspicion.

The elder tried to pry on further on Mikoto's thought. "What are you suggesting?"

The latter was silent, pondering whether he would gain something from providing information. But it seemed that Daikaku would not let him leave in peace if he did not speak his mind. "There is an informant, telling me that that man in the coffin is responsible for previous attempting murder on Blue King."

Daikaku's hands flinched at the statement. The Silver King he had known for years was such a sad, lonely man that could not even hurt a laboratory rat and that went on for years. Or else, he would have hated the world already for the terrible loss of his beloved sister and brought the catastrophe upon this country by his own hands since he had all the capability of doing so. And now Mikoto informed him that the possibly same man tried to murder Munakata Reishi? It did not make any sense to him. Nevertheless, if the recent Silver King was actually not the one who had been his friend, it would explain the whole thing.

The only question left would be, who in the world had such ability to take over a King's body?

Mikoto himself was troubled. There were so much pieces of hint in his hands, but he could not connect the dots. He might be slothful but his brain was not, even though his judgment was often clouded by his own emotion. That young student, who was supposed to be the assassin that went after Totsuka and Reishi might attempt to mislead him by giving false information, but he persistently declared that he was innocent. The Silver King that Yashiro Isana had mentioned was apparently suspicious as well, since the first King on the plane seemed to be not the real Silver King. That man was even taking such a radical move just so they could not capture or question him. Where could be the real Silver King then? Or is he really just a legendary existence made by certain cult that had been long dead?

But if the man inside the coffin was not the Silver King, the Gold King would not even be enraged when he entered this chamber before. The Gold King's reaction confirmed his doubt that the Silver King was real and immortal, and so was the body they had collected from Himmelreich. However, it seemed that someone else took over his body for certain goal that the perpetrator had possibly fled away by now, leaving behind an empty shell. Thus, who was the one who had the power to take over the Silver King's original body? Mikoto was considering the possibility that the young student was the perpetrator for hijacking Silver King's body and attempting murder to his important people. Yashiro Isana might attempt to buy him some time for something he could not figure out yet by leading him to the fake Silver King and he might have been played after all.

The Gold King could feel the growing irritation from inside Mikoto and he cleared his throat quickly. "Now that I have understood the situation, you may return."

Mikoto snapped out of his deep thought and was in daze for a minute before he nodded quietly. "I'm visiting him today." Daikoku watched him for a while and nodded to show his approval before he turned his back and returned to his private resting chamber. The red-haired man nodded slightly in gratitude and stepped outside the meeting room, finding the usual rabbit guard waiting for him outside the room to lead him to the medical wing.

The pathway he had crossed to the meeting chamber had shifted again into a new layout and Mikoto could not resist the urge to sigh. He was drowned again in his own thought, analyzing the possible reason why the perpetrator needed extra time and misled him while his body automatically followed the gold clansmen. He finally was slapped back to reality when a familiar, sharp scent of disinfectant filled his nostrils, telling him that he had reached his destination. As usual, the rabbit guards bowed before him and stayed behind.

The medical wing was now quite vacant compared to the first time he had come here, considering the lack of medical staffs and equipments. The doctors previously told him that Reishi's condition more or less had stabilized that he only required minimal daily care, if nothing new worsened his condition. They were taking high precaution against acquired infection and putting him in sterile room that Mikoto himself was obligated to follow the aseptic procedures. A pair of golden eyes gave a quick scan on the sterile chamber as he strolled into the isolated glass door and hummed approvingly for Daikaku's method to keep Blue King safe. As expected of the second king and top leader of the Japan, he missed no blank point in his arrangement. Apparently they kept Reishi like a solitary prince confined inside thorn castle. The room was empty with the irritating white walls, and only the beeping sound of machine broke the silence in the room. The Gold King kept monitoring him with CCTVs in every corner of the room to lower the risk of unwanted assassination by the medical personnel. Probably only trusted several ones remained for managing the daily care and emergency cases.

The Red King was nevertheless quite grateful for his chance to be able to visit his rival, his current distant lover, that he would follow such wearisome regulations in order to meet him, including constant greeting to the Gold King. The external factors that the Gold King had considered in as possible harm to Reishi included even his own family, friends, and his Clansmen. Thus, none of the Scepter 4 members were allowed to visit their Kings, not even Reishi's family. He had once seen his family standing outside the building and a middle-aged woman cried painfully with two men hugging her in solace. They were all look like a normal, happy family you could find anywhere. He could easily guess that those men were Reishi's father and his older brother, though he would say that Reishi took after his mother very much. The Gold Clansmen forbid them from visiting. Not even Mikoto could sway Daikaku's decision to lift the visitor restriction for Reishi's family. He understood very well that Daikaku simply put the safety of Blue King as his highest priority, that he even enforced such a bitter decree. There were plenty enemies out there, waiting for such favorable situation like this to assassinate the Blue King and the leader of Scepter 4. Therefore, Mikoto never spoke of it anymore. Almighty they might be, they were not immortals.

Probably the only reason that the Gold King only allowed him to visit the fourth king was to avoid further friction between them that might hurt their Weissman level if they went into serious clash. Moreover, Mikoto had the immense Red Aura that no one would be able to use him against Gold or Blue King. Or maybe because that elder simply could see what had been going on secretly between the young kings, but Mikoto would not be concerned as long as he could meet the one he had wanted to see.

As he entered the confined prison made by glasses, his eyes never left the sole sleeping figure on the bed. Reishi wore a simple, light blue kimono that was usually worn by a patient; ironically, the color fitted him quite well. His eyelids never opened since the day he had his accident and Mikoto had missed to see his glittering, unwavering violet orbs already. He noticed how Reishi had growing thinner, smaller and paler, despite all the efforts given to him and his navy blue colored bangs had grown longer, draping his eyes. Being such a pristine man, Reishi would never let his hair to grow this long and such irregular sight actually amused Mikoto.

He slowly sat on the edge of the white-covered bed and spent several minutes watching the sleeping face, to see if there was any small reaction, small hint of him waking up. Mikoto pulled out his hands from his pockets and cupped Reishi's face and closed their distance until their forehead met each other. He whispered solemnly, as if he was talking to a ghost inside the room, "Hey, when are you going to wake up?"

As he expected, there was no response to answer him, and he ignored the bitter feeling tugging in the corner of his heart. "You know that everything is a mess. There is a criminal to capture and there are tons of your enemies wanting to kill you; how can you slack off here and make me do your job? You are obviously not a damsel in distress; you're freaking too sly to be one."

The silence soon filled the room again, and the red king pulled back to put some distance between them to get a better look on the blue-haired man. "Your family was here, worried to death. You kept telling me that I was putting my family in harm; that I put them in misery later on, but look at yourself now. It's all because you are too nosy. Told you not to meddle with HOMRA, didn't I? But being a prick you are, you never listen." But deep inside he understood it quite well that that trait was part of Munakata, and he would not think twice of the man in front of him being submissive. The current Blue King was too poised to change for anybody. Hell, he loved being authoritarian even when he was bottoming.

"Don't complain to me afterward if I destroy the city." Mikoto shook his grip a little on both porcelain cheeks, emphasizing every word that escaped his lips. His emotion leaked out, and his face was apparent with a hint of anger and slight frustration. "Because protecting city is your job, not mine." A flashback of memories came to him, the ones when he saw the grand, sapphire Sword of Damocles hanging in the sky with the fourth king under it. Reishi would always frown at his lack of self-control from damaging public facilities and involving nearby citizens when he went on a fight. Then the Blue King would reprimand him to behave and Mikoto would intentionally pick up a fight, more than pleased for the attention and challenge he got from a certain king. Reishi would always tell him off the same thing, "Your power will someday destroy you. What do you intend to protect with that vicious power anyway?"

The Red King never answered beyond a smirk, because he was always 'action-speaks-louder' kind of guy. So maybe that was why Munakata never knew, that he was also in the list of persons Mikoto had to- wished to protect. That man was pretty much too self-sufficient though, therefore the red-haired man put the blue Captain on the bottom of his priority list since even if he told the man, Reishi would reject the offer with a flat face anyway. The Blue King would be able to protect himself, more than Mikoto could do, with the Blue Aura bestowed upon him. Or at least that was what he had thought; until he witnessed the one he loved lying in front of him right now. Now he regretted his own ignorance and learned in harsh way that conceit was the reason for a man's downfall.

Prussian blue strands fell on Reishi's face when he shook him and noticed that he was being reckless. Then the golden-eyed man loosened his grip carefully while his eyes never left from the pale face beneath him. One of the things he liked about his rival would be the feeling of his soft hair in his hands, especially when it was damped by sweat after their night exertions. He tried his best to gently put Reishi's hair back properly with his fingers. It was not as neat as the Scepter 4's Captain would do his hair every single day, but Mikoto could be careless. Reishi had to live with the result if he would not wake up to complain and fix it himself.

Taking advantage of Reishi when he was unconscious was not his hobby. But if he really had to wait until the latter woke up to kiss him, only Heaven knew when that would ever happen. Therefore, he placed his finger under the sapphire-headed man's chin and lifted his face to meet his while the other hand was entangled in navy blue's strands. In a slow motion, the Red King planted his lips on the forehead lovingly, and then to his lower lip. Feeling unsatisfied, he planted butterfly kisses on those rosy lips before he moved to the porcelain neck and sucked it playfully to leave red marks where anyone could see. His fingers traced the line of his collar bone tenderly. He could be careless if Gold King witnessed their intimate moment through his monitors. To hell with conscience.

Then he pulled back and stood up almost abruptly, causing the hospital bed to spring up at sudden loss of a person's weight. He gave a last, long look on the sole patient on the wing and turned around to leave the place. He got a prey to hunt and the game was on.

* * *

The aquamarine-head strain leaned on the wall of dark, small alley, not far from the Gold King's residence, keeping a watch out on the entrance. The clock was ticking down and it was almost his time to finish his roles. Akizuki flipped open the locket dangling in his neck and smiled sourly at the tiny picture inside, as he talked to himself, "I wonder if I have enough time now."

From the corner of his eyes, he could see a man, with obvious charisma unintentionally screaming from his body, getting out of the entrance door. His blazing crimson hair was quite a feat too; everything about him attracted attention and awe. Without doubt, he must be the third King, Suoh Mikoto, even if Akizuki never met the man personally. The strain could feel his heart thumping like mad and his palms started to feel slick with sweat. After all, the Red King was well-known for his lack of patience and being hot-headed.

He could hear footsteps getting closer and the faint smell of tobacco in the air told him that the man he was trying to talk with was near. Taking a deep breath, Akizuki braced himself for the worse and abruptly went out of his hiding alley to encounter Mikoto. The Red King did not even faze with a man nearly bumped into him and now stood before him, but he watched him closely like a predator, sizing the strain up.

Giving his best, failing smile, Akizuki began talking in a rush and completely forgot to take a breath in between of his lines. "H-hello, you must be the Red King. I'm truly sorry, I know you are in a hurry, but could you spare me a minute to talk, Suoh Mikoto?"

Mikoto only raised an eyebrow at the young man in front of him. This aquamarine-head man did not give much impression, let alone an intimidating presence. Based on years of his experience, these kinds of people would be under the category of 'herbivore' and it was not necessary for him to raise his arm. This man was probably just another weakling that attempted to join HOMRA and gained power without giving much effort. Without sparing him some attention, Mikoto moved aside and started to walk passed him.

Akizuki felt sudden panic and grabbed the crimson-head man's arm without thinking twice and blurted out, "I need to tell you what has happened to Blue King and all the consequences we have to bear before my time runs out!"

To his relief, Mikoto was stunned for a moment and finally his focus was completely on him. The bad news was, now the Red King was growling at him menacingly, like a hungry lion trying to pin him down and devour him to small pieces. He was a man of wisdom, not one with fist. He would not stand even a single chance of defending himself against the leader of HOMRA. Mikoto grabbed the front of his white shirt in his fist and dragged him back into the dark alley. Without much consideration, the red head slammed the smaller man against the wall excruciatingly and one of his hands grabbed his azure hair rather ruthlessly. His sharp golden eyes glared brighter in the shade and though Akizuki found them quite beautiful, he was quite afraid of his life ending before he could relay the truth.

"What did you say?" Mikoto questioned, seething. All this time, he had been trying to find out what had happened during last incident, and none of Scepter 4 or HOMRA could understand what Munakata Reishi had been thinking on that night. Now there was a stranger he did not recognize, stepped up under the spotlight and told him that he held all the information regarding that night? Logically, for Mikoto, it did not make sense. But everything so far never made sense to him, thus he would listen. But he had to threaten him so no lies sprouted from his lips.

Akizuki put his hands in front of his chest in defense and strained himself from yelling in panic. He had considered in that the Red King would behave like this, but he was still frightened by Mikoto in reality. What the Blue King had seen in this man was something he could not comprehend. Red King's charisma easily overwhelmed the strain, almost chokingly painful. He cringed as he listened to himself stammering but he went on, "C-could you please let me go first and move to a place so no one could hear? It's rather sensitive issue…"

Mikoto pondered the offer for a moment and released his fists from the strain. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and made a gesture for him to follow. "Fine. Don't even try to run away."

Without looking at those golden eyes, Akizuki spitefully mumbled under his breath and patted his crumpled shirt. "Why would I when I'm the one who try to find you?"

The HOMRA's king did not comment, but push the lithe man to start walking to further depth of the alley. Akizuki stumbled a little by sudden push and bit his tongue, trying to stop himself from swearing. Seriously, both Red and Blue Kings were quite merciless from his point of view. Munakata Reishi was most likely better out of two since he still laced his tyranny with a smile and courtesy. But in the end, a King was nevertheless an existence that to be feared.

When the light could no longer reach the inner part of alley and only the sound of croaking crows could be heard from nearby, Akizuki stopped walking and turned around to face the red-headed King. "Here should be fine, right?"

Mikoto was quiet for a moment, observing the place and listening to the smallest sound. When he considered it safe, he sighed and leaned back against the wall on the opposite of Akizuki, watching him closely. "Talk now."

Akizuki straightened his shirt and breathed out. Deep down, he doubted if the Red King would believe him. He stared straight at the golden eyes and spoke without giving in to his fear. "I am Akizuki, a strain with time-travel ability."

As he expected, Mikoto gave him the same look that Reishi had given him before in the strain facility. These two kings were quite different, yet apparently similar in some ways. So he continued on, "yeah, I know, you don't believe me. Blue King also gave me that same look when I told him."

Mikoto was shaken a bit when Akizuki pointed out his obvious reaction and reached out for his cigarette in his pocket and lit it up with a flick of his finger to calm himself. "So you have met him?"

Akizuki replied him with a sad smile and leaned on the wall as well in front of Mikoto. "Yeah, about one year from today."

Mikoto was bewildered and rubbed his forehead. He could feel the headache like a dull pain. Even talking with this man did not make anything clearer than before. So this strain admitted that he went to the past after meeting Munakata in the future? He was not even sure anymore if he could understand what Akizuki had attempted to tell him.

"Just listen, since it won't make sense until you hear the full story." Akizuki chuckled at Mikoto's baffled expression but when the latter replied him with a shot of glare, the strain clamped up. "In the future, Blue King makes a pact with me. I will help him to get back to the past and he will try to fix this mess with Colorless King. And yeah, the rumor is true. The one that tried to hurt your friend is Colorless King. His ability to hack into someone's body makes him difficult to get captured."

"In order to change the past, we turned back the time. He told me after we arrived in this year, that he had to stop Colorless King from killing your people on that rooftop on that day to prevent all the tragedies in the future."

Mikoto could not help but feeling intrigued. "What tragedy?"

A pair of aquamarine eyes stared back at him, feeling torn whether he should tell the man or not. But Mikoto glared at him harder and the strain winced in fear. "Originally, Totsuka Tatara would be dead on that night on the hands of Colorless King. And weeks afterward, you…also died after taking your revenge with your Sword of Damocles crumbling apart. Since no Kagutsu crater occurred that time, I could safely assume that your blood was spilled on Blue King's hands."

Mikoto's fingers which were holding the cigarette to his lips flinched. Somehow the image of his dreams flooded back; the burned city, the smell of burning smoke rising high in the sky, the gray ashes and more red. He could see himself standing in the middle of ruins, committing further self-destruction in the blinding rage. He could imagine that somewhere in the other world, other time, he would make Munakata to risk his Sword of Damocles and put Mikoto out of his misery. He must be quite desperate then, so to have the last moment with his favorite blue king.

"Then you are saying that actually Blue King is the only one alive and safe from that tragedy?" Mikoto inhaled a deep breath of his cigarette, letting the nicotine help with his nerves.

The azure-headed strain gave a little nod. "Totsuka Tatara, you, Silver King and Colorless King are supposedly dead in that future, leaving behind only Blue King. Only he knows what happens when you, him, Colorless King and Silver King fight each other."

"Silver king?" Mikoto raised an eyebrow. Why were there lots of unknown parties joining in this revenge-plotted story? But the strain nodded once again. "At least that was what I heard from Blue King. I saw a Sword of Damocles emitting silver light from distance too on that last battle."

Akizuki continued with his storytelling without wasting another minute, "So I met him, offering a chance to change the past, to accomplish what I can't do. After a while, he agreed. And so here we are, back to this year. With the knowledge what sins Colorless King will do, what kind of power he has, he tries to stop what causes your misery."

Mikoto threw his cigarette to the road and stubbed it out almost vehemently with his right foot, "so that's why he was there on that night, knowing that this Colorless King would make his appearance there, isn't that right?" If all of these were true, then nothing could ease the stabbing pain in his heart now. The man that should be the one alive, as it should be, now ended up in such pathetic state because he tried to fix other people's life, including Mikoto's? Just how meddlesome would Reishi get until he had enough? "Then, why don't you return back the time and tell him how stupid he is?"

Akizuki lowered his head, and the shadow of his bangs was casted on his eyes. "There is price I have to pay, every time I turn back the time. I just don't have it anymore." He glanced up and looked straight into Mikoto's eyes. "His pact with me was the final time for me to use my ability. Now I only have enough probably to return several minutes in the past. And since he gets back to the past as well, he also has to pay the price."

The strain was in shock when suddenly Mikoto grabbed him on his shoulders with intention to hurt and slammed him against the wall quite hard. Mikoto nearly barked in pure fury, "You tricked him into this, didn't you?!" The light blue-haired man surrendered to his fate and simply watched the wounded lion; nothing he could do to ease that pain. After all, he did have a responsibility for what had happened to Munakata. If only he never offered this chance to return to the past, that young king would still be alive and physically healthy, even though with a broken heart. But back then, he wanted to believe that the Blue King could achieve beyond his expectation. Now he ended up with another tragedy and he was out of option to revert it.

He softly answered, feeling guilty, "I didn't. He knew all the consequence and he gives me his consent, regardless the price he had to pay, as long as it won't involve his important people. But the price would be burdened on that individual, anyway, and he was fully prepared of what was coming. "

Mikoto still looked like he wanted to hit the latter hard in the face, and the young strain was preparing himself for a painful bruise, but the hit never came. Half-agitated, Mikoto released the man and clenched his fists on his sides. "So what is his price?"

Akizuki gave him a sympathetically look, but he replied anyway. "Why he is still unconscious right now is because of the years he is indebted for this time-travel. And in exchange for changing thread of fate and averting the inevitable death of two persons, more years are deducted from his lifespan."

The Red King shuddered at the words. He could not understand fully the implication of it, but he could feel the heavy burden in his shoulders already. "What do you mean?"

Akizuki grabbed back the strong arms that put him still in his place with new determination in his eyes. "It means, if you continue walking on suicidal path as you are now, you are wasting his precious gift. And what had been given could not be taken back or returned. His lifespan has already been exchanged for you. How many years precisely he lost for you, I cannot foretell."

Mikoto looked torn, like he wanted to destroy everything but conflict was apparent in his eyes. If that was true, it meant now he had to live with not only the world, but also Reishi's life on his shoulders. How could Reishi do that to him? He was already exhausted with the burden as a King, and now the Blue King bestowed him with another weight to carry, much heavier compared to the world for Mikoto. Reishi was like chaining his feet to the ground, anchoring him with all the gravity without escape from this burden.

His grip on Akizuki loosened quite a bit and his voice quivered slightly like a plea, "If you are telling the truth, bring me back to the past. I'll save them myself."

The latter shook his head apologetically and reasoned with him in small voice. "I can't. I told you, I no longer have enough lifespan to pay the price for using my ability to that extent. Even if I do, you don't. The years you gain are not fully yours, because the one who pays for it is the Blue King. If he does not desire so, you cannot use your life as collateral. You only have enough time to return several minutes from this instant since initially you only have several days until your death."

Denial of the sudden fact on his face, Mikoto placed his hand on the young strain's neck ominously. "How can I know that these are all not lies!?"

Akizuki did not waver but grabbed his hand with all his might and stared him with a challenge. "So if I bring you back fifteen minutes from now on, you would believe me, right? Mind the consequence though."

Mikoto gave a twisted smile and growled at him. "Yeah, I dare you."

In that instant, the surrounding suddenly blurred, like he was riding on a lightning-fast rollercoaster within a second. The next second he blinked, Mikoto felt extreme dizziness like a ringing bell inside his head and found himself just several meters behind the Gold Clansmen and the entrance door of Gold King's residence. Still grabbing his aching head, the red king knelt on the floor as he lost his balance, utterly confused. "W-what?" The rabbit guards who were in the middle of escorting him, were immediately alarmed and hurriedly knelt by his side to assist Mikoto to keep him steady. "What's wrong, Red King?"

He spent a whole minute, struggling to swallow his urge to vomit and waiting for the surge of headache to pass. The Gold Clansmen wearing the rabbit masks did not touch him; instead they let him to relax for a bit. After he felt slightly better, Mikoto pushed himself up from the floor with little help from rabbit guard and allowed them to guide him out of the entrance door. He swayed a little as he walked, but the prideful king pushed the Gold Clansmen away to stop them fussing over him. After giving him a curt bow, they returned into the building and Mikoto hastily supported his body by leaning against one of the cold, marble pillars. When he looked at the direction at the mouth of dark alley he supposed to meet the strain for the first time, Akizuki stood there quietly and stared at him with a knowing look and put a finger on his lips. The headache gave him a hard time to figure out what the strain had whispered to him by reading his lips movement, but Mikoto understood more or less.

With a solemn, last smile on Red King, Akizuki hoped his message would reach Suoh Mikoto. "This time, take care of that life." Then he turned his back on the Red King and vanished into the shadow.

* * *

With a weak, exhausted smile, the strain felt his energy seemed to sap out of his body. If this was how it felt when imminent death loomed over him, it seemed not to be a terrible way to die. He was sitting on the nearly empty train by the window at the most backseat, watching at the beautiful view of the city outside in blurring speed. He had missed his town, where his special person and him growing up together, before they decided to leave out the small town to find a better place for them to live. Apparently he could not make it back to that town with the time he had, so he guessed he should be pleased with the enchanting view of the crowded city with skyscraper towers, which reflecting the light of the sun. Everything seemed to be bright in a blinding pure white, tainted by blue sky color and white clouds. Though he found the view beautiful, it was such lonely scenery from his point of view. Where he came from, the village was vibrant with multicolor in the landscape. The blue color of the sky, the green of the trees and mountain, various yellow, oranges and purples of flowers, tint of gray of the smoke from chimney houses, red of house rooftop and many more. He could imagine them already behind his closed eyes.

He flipped open the locket that he kept as a necklace. Inside, there was a small photo of him and a young student with lopsided smile and beautiful white hairs, arms in arms, capturing his happiest moments of his short life. Akizuki could feel a teardrop formed in his eyes, but he could be careless. There were not much people around in the train to notice such insignificant him.

Only the Blue King had known all along the reason for him doing this, to the point of pushing himself to the entrance door of Death. He spilled everything to that blue-haired king, as he sympathized with him, considering all he had to go through. They both lost someone precious. He knew that their special persons would never wish that they will follow their steps to death, but he could not let things to go as it is. He only wished that Munakata Reishi would be able to attain better ending than him. Akizuki rubbed gently the cheery face in the photo and chuckled.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't let him to use your body for evil. I know that you must have wanted someone to stop him, Isana." A tear rolled down to his cheek, falling to the locket. "After the day he took over your body, I kept returning to the past, hoping to change the precedent. But it seems I can't change your fate. No matter what I do, it always leads to same conclusion, I lost you." It had been a long, repetitive year since he was chasing after the Colorless King. By now, he had lost all the hope that the one he loved had not been devoured completely by the Colorless King. Even if the Colorless King spared the body, it was probably nothing more than a hollow shell by now.

He gazed outside through the glass, admiring the blue high sky. "So when I know that I have used most of my lifespan trying to prevent that abominable King from possessing you and fail, I can only wish that someone will stop him, before he can bring further, greater tragedy. I pray that the Blue King will be able to stop this chain of misery, because I know how much it will hurt you if you know that someone uses your body to hurt someone else. After all, you are too soft-hearted."

His eyelids felt quite heavy, but his heart was in peace as it slowly thumped inside his chest in lazy beats. His visions went blurry and he could feel the ending was near. "May you find your happiness, Kings…" The strain whispered as he surrendered to the darkness which slowly consumed him, and finally relaxed to get his rest. He leaned his head against the cool window train and breathed his last under the basking sun light with a soft smile in his face.

* * *

"You must have loved me very much." The red-haired man asked in a teasing tone as he lied on his back and glanced on the man beside him. The blue head only replied him with a cynical look and a snort before he averted his eyes again to his PDA monitor with a slight rosy blush rising to his ears. If Reishi thought the darkness in the room was enough to hide his embarrassment from Mikoto, he was totally mistaken. But Reishi being Reishi, the flame wielder could easily guess that being cold was his typical response to conceal his shyness. Mikoto started to wonder if he was a masochistic man to love such a complicated man like Reishi, and to find the latter's reaction as endearing.

He spent several minutes, watching the naked body beside him lying on his stomach with the blanket covering his half-bottom appreciatively. The light was turned off way long before they got too busy with touching each other and now the soft gleam of moonlight through the window was the only source of light inside the room. However, the silver light casted on Reishi's fair skin and his sapphire locks made him look like he was a fallen god and Mikoto resisted his urge to shower kisses on that skin. The young Captain never let him do that. He would always scold him with 'As barbaric as you are, you will leave marks and it will be problematic for me to cover them tomorrow.'

Reishi finished sending his message to his Clansman. When they were making out, Enomoto finally finished his report and submitted it to him in the middle of the night via e-mail. While he would not spend his time reading the report right away, he should at least leave a message of appreciation. So after they were done getting off each other and cleaning up, the Blue King swiftly grabbed his PDA and typed his message, much to Mikoto's chagrin.

The Blue King could not comprehend why Mikoto suddenly uttered such profanity, but he never understood what had been going inside Mikoto's head after all these years, so he would not start now. If Mikoto wanted to play, he could follow his lead for now, no problem. Supporting his head with his left hand, he turned around and faced Mikoto with an enticing smile, "yeah, I love you so much that I want to kill you."

The Red King gave a soft chuckle at his answer and placed a finger under his partner's chin, lifting it up as their faces got closer. Reishi could feel the red head's breath on his face, giving tingling sensation on his skin. The man in front of him was too beautiful, too alluring like a slow deadly poison. How was he supposed to hate this man, who should be his enemy? His crimson mane felt silky between his fingers, and its ruby color was so vigorous like a blazing sun. He trailed his finger to trace Mikoto's bodyline, down to his tone stomach, admiring its glistening skin by sweat. The image was too strong to him; he could feel his desire piling up again. Without a second thought, he moved and sat on Mikoto's stomach mercilessly, pinning the crimson king down on the bed with a soft whisper to his right ear, "We still have few hours before dawn."

Mikoto perked up with swelling interest as he looked up into those twinkling mauve orbs, but he could not resist not teasing the latter. "I wonder, I'm sleepy."

The Blue King raised an eyebrow at that and replied spitefully, "Yeah sure, I often forget that you are such a lazy, hopeless man." But before he could return to the side of his bed and covered himself with blanket to get some sleep as Mikoto had suggested before, a pair of arms embraced his waist tightly all of sudden and tackled him down. When he realized what had happened, Mikoto was already on top of him with a winning smile and his arms were on both sides of Reishi's head. Feeling irritated at prior dismissal, Reishi growled at him, "and now you want to play? Go entertain yourse-." Before he could finish his line, Mikoto had captured his lips and took his breath away so he would shut up.

After a while, he broke the kiss, trying to catch up with his need of air while staring down at Reishi and he was convinced that he was infatuated by the sight. Quite. His navy blue hairs sprawled on the white pillow and his lips were swollen red by their heated kisses. His amethyst eyes glazed with lust and his face were tainted with pink rose color. The latter was gasping for air; his chest rose and fell in steadily fast rhythm. Mikoto could not help but think that this man was absolutely the most beautiful lover ever alive.

_"But I guess this is the end, Suoh Mikoto?"_

Suddenly the whole thing seemed so wrong and the Red King liberated his grip on his love, as if the touch had burnt his skin. He bent backward to give some space between him and Reishi, and his golden eyes widened in surprise as he watched the Blue King's hands and chest were covered in blood with a dismayed smile plastered on his face. "Are you going to make me kill you again? Or will you finally bring me down with you this time?"

"No!" Mikoto tried to reach out with his right hand, but when he realized, he had been thrusting his arm into the empty air. He was panting hard, but he tried to look around, to see if it was all a dream. He recognized the ceiling as his own room in HOMRA's bar and the suffocating tobacco smell lingering inside. As he turned his head to his side, there was no one else but him inside the room. As he had confirmed that it was all a dream, he relaxed and spread his arms on the bed with a deep sigh. The dream was too vivid, since it was part of his memories, except for the last part. It was horrible and sickening to see Reishi painted in crimson color. Blue suited him much better, in his book. He put his right arm in front of his eyes to cover them from sunlight.

"Damn you…I guess this is your revenge, huh? Haunting me even in my dream," Mikoto let out a bitter chuckle and sighed exhaustedly.

Suddenly a loud ringing phone echoed inside his room. After the second ring, Mikoto sat up on his bed and stared at the phone impassively which was never there in his room. Nevertheless, no matter how long it had rung, Mikoto did not move an inch. It seemed that his prey finally got bored of this chasing game and decided to put it on another level.

The handle of the phone suddenly floated on the air, and the voice of young male could be heard from the other side in a singsong manner. "Hello? Hello there! Do you have a minute?"

"Who am I, you're wondering?" The Colorless King asked rhetorically. Mikoto nearly snorted at the stupid question. There would be no one else who would dare to call him with such laid-back attitude but he spoke nothing to reply. "I'm the man you're looking for."

"It's about your man…Was it Totsuka?" From his bed, Mikoto could see a white smoke came out from the phone, and it took a form like a fox spirit. Finally the pieces came together and he understood. So it was not a mistake when Tatara talked to him about that night when he saw a fox before he lost his consciousness. "I'm the one who hurt him!" the fox spirit confessed with such sickeningly happy tone that the Red King felt the sudden urge to grab it and strangle it if possible.

Ignoring his provocation, Mikoto calmed his mind and closed his eyes. The aquamarine-head strain had revealed it to him, and if that man spoke of truth, this Colorless King was probably hijacking another body to make this phone call and attempted to claim his Aura at a small opening. He would not get anything if this fox made his run again once he frightened the latter. He needed to lure the fox to find out his location, so he remained silent like a corpse.

The Colorless King kept talking airily, "You know, I kinda feel bad for him…He's probably lonely and bored being sick. I want to give Blue King to accompany him, but I guess it can't be helped!"

Mikoto could not stop himself a small flinch on his finger at the provocation. Barely perceptible, but the red-headed hated himself for giving away a hint of his weakness. How dare this infant king?

"But I'm sure he will be happier with his friends! So should I start with Kusanagi, and hurt everyone all the way down to Yata? Should I? Right?"

Mikoto was silent. Even though he could not wait for another minute to burn and torture this man slowly to death, but if he wanted to lure him, he had to pretend as if his provocation had gradually infuriated him. Such a wicked man would try everything to get something out of him.

"Man, are you even breathing? Maybe next time, I'll have that young lady entertain me. You know, the one you always drag around with you. Anna, was it? She must be fun, I like them young!"

Fed up with all this nonsense, he slowly opened his ruby eyes, as if challenging the spirit to get him instead. As he expected, on the next second, he could sense a fox spirit sprinted in the air, making way to his inner soul and shrieked gleefully, "I have you now!" Inside his conscience, the Red King finally met the Colorless King for the first time. However, before that fox could even taste a little bit part of his Red Aura, he summoned his soul spirit in the form of blazing lion and assaulted it with fire storm directly to its soul. The young king did not hear in time of terror as the surrounding lava rumbled with a low growl, "How foolish, I've been waiting for this moment to rip you up." Instantly, the spirit scrammed out in terrible fear and returned to his host, leaving trail to his location hastily.

When Mikoto had finally pinned down his location, he felt aggravating rage and could not stop himself not to blow the whole room down along with his prey. From quite distance, he could hear the loud sound of explosion like a prelude in his ears, to his pleasure. But he still could not relax down yet until he had confirmed with his own eyes that his enemy was no longer in this world. His ability to possess people could be quite convenient after all. Colorless King's attempt to provoke him must be a trap too, nevertheless he could not know what kind of evil plan it was, and Mikoto had no choice but to do what he could do for a moment. In a sudden rush, he grabbed for his black fur jacket and walked down the stairs in a rush. As he was about to make it to the front door of HOMRA bar, Kusanagi hastily called for him and effectively stopped him in the track. He turned to face his friends, who were relaxing on the stools by bar table, with a solemn look.

Kusanagi frowned on the instant he witnessed the stormy, troubled look on Mikoto's eyes while he was in the middle of polishing his precious antique table bar. "What's wrong?"

Mikoto averted his eyes; he did not intend to drag his family into this matter. An all-out war between Kings was not to be spectacled by normal people, including the Clansmen. However, before he could decide anything on his own, a small, soft hand grabbed his sleeve, and a pair of crimson eyes stared back at him perceptively. "Mikoto…"

"It's time." Mikoto sighed and somberly announced with slightly short of breath. Without delay, Yata jumped from his chair and shouted while walking to get his skateboard with a grin, "Finally!" The blond bartender hurriedly glanced at worried Tatara and grabbed his shoulders. They could not bring him into battle field, since it was dangerous, but it would be much worse to leave him alone without protection. "Come with us, but stay out of trouble, okay?"

Tatara nodded briefly and smiled at the young strain girl who also watched him anxiously, but her little, ivory hand never left Mikoto's. "I will protect Tatara too." She was so adorable that Tatara could not resist a smile in his face and kneeled down before her to embrace her in awkward way with his casted arm. "And so do I for you, Anna." He could feel a tear behind his amber eyes when he felt a tap on his shoulder and found Yata with his childlike, encouraging grin. "This time, I got your back, Totsuka!" HOMRA was everything to him; he could not ask for better.

Kusanagi rapidly wiped dry his hands with a cloth and tossed it behind on the mahogany table. He circled around the table and grabbed for his cell phone on the nearby sofa to gather the whole HOMRA members. "So, you finally found the target? I'll gather everyone."

The blond nearly dropped his cell phone if not for his better reflex. "Gold King's building." All heads snapped around and hint of horror were apparent on Yata's and Bandou's face, "No way…"

Without wasting a minute, Mikoto walked out the door with his hands in his pocket. "Let's go."

"You can't be serious…?" Kusanagi asked, horrified with his own possible conjecture and typed quickly to send his messages, while Tatara grabbed the car keys on the table and threw it into the bartender's grasp with his healthy hand. It seemed that time was not their privilege now.

Yata snapped out of his trance and went after his king, "He is going to face Gold King? He is stupid or what?"

Totsuka was the last to leave the bar, and closed the door behind him with small click of lock. "It's not that, Yata. We might have never told you, but Blue King is currently being confined there to recover. Our best guess, his target now is the Blue King."

The young vanguard was already on his skateboard, pondering for a while after hearing that. His head was suddenly occupied with Saruhiko. He might still hate that traitor, but this was about his boss and his King. Misaki wondered if he should at least tell the man and worked with HOMRA for once. And maybe for once after their break-up, they could finally get a chance to gather what was once between them and fixed it. However, before he could even reach for his cell phone in his pocket, Mikoto and his friends had gotten themselves inside Kusanagi's rented car and the bartender had started the engine.

Kusanagi called out to him quickly, "Are you coming, Yata?"

The red vanguard was hesitant for moment before nodded resolutely, "yeah, I just need a moment! I'll catch up with you."

When he was finally alone, he took out his phone and started to get on his skateboard carefully. The phone rang almost unbearable long, probably because he used private number and Saruhiko hated anonymous call more than anything. He would not be surprised if his nemesis decided not to pick it up. Miraculously, a familiar voice finally answered him formally, instead of the constant phone rings. "Fushimi speaking, who is this?"

Yata felt a tugging pain in his heart at hearing the familiar voice he had missed for years. To think again, back then they were still immature and he actually wondered what the cause of their break-up was. They were too hot-headed when they had their discussion, leading to a fight and fractured relationship. If he was about to talk now with Saruhiko, would they still be not friends? He held back his impending tears and swallowed, "Oi, monkey. I need to tell you something."

The vanguard swerved at the road turn and rushed to follow his friends. The chilling wind slapped his face, helping him a bit with his nerves to talk to an old friend in civil manner. The other side sounded hesitant and a long pause fell between them. "…what?"

Misaki breathed out and said, "We're going to Gold King's place. Mikoto finds out that the culprit is coming to get your boss."

He nearly yelled angrily for Fushimi for not taking him seriously as the latter simply snorted and sneered at him, "If he does that, there is the second king for him to face on. He will not stand a chance."

The red-head nearly slammed his phone in frustration; Saruhiko never listened to him, even in such grave situation. "Aren't you worried about your king at all!? Fine, I don't care about you!" Misaki pushed the dial-off button with too much force and pocketed his phone angrily. Too occupied with his emotion, he nearly hit a little girl who walked across the road carelessly, chasing after her ball, with his skateboard, but he escaped her by a hair line and shouted an apology and kept running.

"Damn that monkey…As heartless as ever!" Misaki swore under his breath and focused on his way to their target.

* * *

The Commander's office felt quite spacious and empty without his regal presence. Seri was in daze as she looked into the details of every corner in his office. She can put her mind at ease by being in here, recalling the moments she sat by his side, giving him strategic proposals as they were to tackle a mission with the familiar scent of green tea and her favorite red bean paste. She started to muse over all the confident and courage she possessed beside the Blue King as her Captain.

She was sitting on the pillow reserved for tea ceremony in Blue King's chamber, as if she was meditating when Fushimi made his entrance with a PDA in his hand in haste. The blonde lieutenant turned her head to his direction and put down her tea cup. "How can I help you, Fushimi?"

He made a rush salute to her and quickly dismissed his courtesy, "HOMRA had just made their move." His lieutenant instantly looked exhausted more than ever with the imminent headache. "They are heading to the second king's home. There has been a report of explosion from same location. I assumed they are chasing the Colorless King."

Abruptly Seri gathered herself and stood up in front of her man and queried, "Are you certain of this?"

Reluctantly Fushimi answered her back, "HOMRA had just informed us personally. I find their movement in the city monitors as well and as we are speaking, they are already at Gold King's courtyard."

Seri fought a deep sigh and walked out her Captain's chamber and walked in the hallway in fast pace. "Then we have an emergency. Gather people to dispatch and I will contact personally to the second king to provide assistance."

"Yes, Ma'am," Fushimi quickly replied and walked to different direction to hers. She feared the final stage had just lifted its curtain.

* * *

A raven-coated man with a long black ponytail jumped from the rooftop of a one-floor building into a small alley, landing gracefully like a cat. "The Red Clan has just gone to the Imperial Building. There is even explosion; I think it's dangerous for us to be involved. What will you do now?"

The strain cat abruptly entangled her arms on the white-haired student's and whined anxiously, "Shiro, let's just leave them. They are scary, let's run while they get busy?"

The young student stared at her sympathetically and patted her head gently; he knew that she really loved his hands when he did so. "Sorry, Neko. You must be tired. But if HOMRA makes their move in such hurry to that place, I can only imagine that the one who knows me and is related to that incident is there too. If I want to make sure that I am not the killer, I should go there."

"I'll go with you." His black guardian hastily volunteered and his eyes stared straight into amber orbs challengingly, as if he would not accept refusal for his offer, "You still have to prove it to me that you are not guilty or else." Isana could only tilt his head and smiled appreciatively, "Thanks, Kuroh."

Neko watched them sulkily and tightened her embrace on Isana's arm, "I will go with Shiro…"

The latter placed his hands on Neko's cherry cheeks and tilted her face to meet his. "Thank you, Neko." The waist-length haired strain blushed deeply and nearly mewling, but she stopped herself by covering her mouth. Isana gave a soft laugh at her response and let go of her. He whirled around and started to step out of the dark alley, "Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So all the actors have been gathered in one place! Next chapter will be another climax, hohoho. Ehh…I just notice I never leave warning for character death. But that is not necessary for OC right?


	8. Frozen Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry! I forget to upload the new chapter because I am already working on several MikoRei fics, including the next chapter of Hourglass. Umm...so yeah...this is the new chapter. Thanks Dana for reminding me. XD

 

* * *

 _The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference._ \- **Elie Wiesel**

* * *

Daikaku put his hands in his sleeves as he sat on the small pillow with a full set of tea ceremony in front of him untouched, while closing his eyes as if he was meditating. Nevertheless, a frown was apparent with thin creases between his furrowed brows. As one of the first generation of Kings, he had poured all his wisdom and dignity to bring peace to the whole country of Japan since he would not abandon his duty as a King, just like a certain friend he had longed to meet. The weight of the world on his shoulder was heavy, but he took pride in his commitment.

And yet, he could not even spare extra patience toward the young generations. They were careless, hasty to make decisions, selfish to the core. He had seen various examples of immature Kings, abusing their gifts and responsibilities like a new toy to play and utilize it for such trivial matter. Their worlds were much smaller in scope, compared to what he had in his vision. The power of the King was so tremendous, that it was a given that a King should shoulder his divine duty of the humanity, instead of their own tiny world.

He had put a hope on the young Blue King with his brilliant mind and reliability, yet Munakata Reishi also fell from his grace in the end. He used his supremacy trying to save HOMRA, and ended up meeting his own demise. His emotion took the best of him, and instead of preferring public order, the Blue King decided to save a member of Red Clan, and possibly the Red King, in exchange of his wellbeing. It would be a great loss to lose his grasp on the Third King due to his tremendous offensive Aura, but it would be better to lose an important pawn than to lose the whole game. If he had to speak his mind, he was disappointed by Blue King's judgment. Youth and inexperience were always the reasons for young Kings' downfall.

Nevertheless, he would give high opinion for Scepter 4 for taking the matter of handling HOMRA all these years without objection; or to be precise, Blue King's inconvenience in compromising with the current Red King. Suoh Mikoto was like a wild lion. Once his den was disturbed, it would wreck the whole forest, and it would pay no heed to anything else until it ran out of energy. Trying to control such a ticking bomb without killing him in the process was nevertheless quite a difficult, if not straining, task to accomplish. In his inner mind, he praised the young Captain of Scepter 4 for being able to constrain the Red King with minimal, inevitable casualties. There might be involvement of natural affection between them that improved the stability of Red King, but he would shut his eyes and pretend not to notice the obvious if no problem arose from that affiliation.

Among all Auras, Red Aura is the most devastating and hardest to control, always screaming for chaos. Daikaku always pitied the chosen Red King since they often checked out of this world too soon, after spending their life to keep the Aura from leaking out or charring the King's own soul when suppressed for prolonged period. His compassion extended even to current King, Suoh Mikoto. He could see how hard the man fought against his own Aura, trying to keep it down as much as he could, probably for the sake of his Clansmen. Among all Red Kings, he was still considerably most passive. Thus, Daikaku often averted his eyes away and overlooked the reports whenever trivial problems in public order arose due to Red King's involvement.

But apparently, now the Red King had lost his temper and just decided to disrupt the peace and his behavior was beyond justifiable. Just a moment ago, there was an explosion in the lobby and while the tremor itself would not worry him, Daikaku could not forgive such an offending act for bursting a part of his house into dust, despite all possible reasons. He could sense the trace of Red Aura from the detonation site. His fists clenched in fury, overwhelmed by his emotion for the disrespect he had been awarded for everything he had done. With Munakata out of duty, he had no option but to handle such a trivial matter himself. Nonetheless, it was his duty as an adult to punish a child's mischief, and he decided that this was the appropriate time to enforce some respect toward elder, even if by brute force.

He stood up and started to walk toward the sliding door, and a pair of Gold Clansmen wearing the raven robes swiftly opened the exit for him while kneeling on the wooden floor. Daikaku regally strolled to the hallway, without sparing a glance to his subordinates, "Come. Alert the security team to halt the Red Clan and command the perception manipulation team to reboot. It shall gain time to confuse his underlings." His golden eyes hardened to the distance, "I will personally face the Red King." The two rabbit guards bowed before him and vanished into thin air.

"Suoh Mikoto, hast thou finally become a foe?" Daikaku snarled as he made his path to his private elevator with crossed arms in front of his chest.

* * *

Kusanagi took a long drag of his cigarette before he threw it to the nearest stub on a trash bin, which was the only thing preserved from previous explosion on the lobby and he scanned around with devastated look. "Whoa, that looks bad than I have originally thought." He glanced to his king and gave a short, weak chuckle, "I don't think the Gold King will forgive you for this, even with an apology, boss."

The front gate of the lobby had long vanished with traces of shattered glass, broken vases and the whole wall, which was originally painted in gold-colored glowing dragons, was now charred black. Several pillars were into the piling dirt, with the roof still crumbling down with gray dust. Nevertheless the building was well-built to Kusanagi's amazement. Even with major loss of the supporting pillars, it did not even sway or show the sign of further deterioration. It seemed that this building would be the sole building that survived nuclear war.

Mikoto only stared back and ignored his best friend's comment and nonchalantly progressed into inside without being careful of his foot ground. Anna made a short run to catch up with Mikoto and grabbed his hand as they walked side by side. The bartender slapped his forehead and shrugged as he followed his king. Only Totsuka was kind enough to spare him sympathy and smiled at him almost apologetically. In contrary to his reaction, the young vanguard and his friends seemed to be in awe as he saw the result of Mikoto's power. "Wow! Look at this place! As expected from Mikoto-san!" Kusanagi could only sigh resignedly but only Totsuka whirled around and started to give them a brief lecture to the young men, "Now that won't do. We may have to use force, but if we can avoid it, it will be better! Look at these art pieces! Considering they belong to Gold King, they must be all original. Do you have any idea how much this will charge Kusanagi for damage cost?"

The bartender snapped his head, perplexed, "Me!? I can't pay all these!"

"Don't you think that the Gold King will enforce the bill on us as compensation?" Totsuka added and effectively made Kusanagi clammed up with distressed look.

Listening to Totsuka almost evaporated his fighting spirit already, if not knocking him back to reality, thus Yata only sighed and climbed up the stairs to the lobby as he muttered to his friends, "You heard him. Don't destroy anything if we can avoid it." The rest of Red Clan almost felt disappointed instantly, for not being able to wield their flame power to their heart content. "Totsuka, you're such a mood killer." They all sulked and started to walk inside.

The blond only laughed without a hint of being remorseful about it as the Red Clansmen went passed through him. "Well, I'm the only one who is weak and can only use his head to tell you off. King is too busy with his business. And I don't want any of you to get hurt. Be careful, Yata."

The red vanguard glanced back and nodded with his skateboard in his left arm as he answered calmly. "Leave it to me." The rest of them grinned at him and energetically rushed up inside the lobby to inner building. "Don't worry, Totsuka! We'll get that culprit so he can't hurt you anymore!"

The blond put his arms in his waist and sighed with a relieved smile. He was so proud of his family. They might be reckless with excessive vigor and power, but their unity was absolutely unbreakable. Kusanagi waited up with him and chuckled for the youngster had accomplished, "It's difficult to control these kids, huh?"

"Well, King is such a doting father; he won't be strict with them unless things are bad enough." Totsuka shrugged carelessly and turned his head toward him when he heard the bartender softly laughed. "What?"

"You sound like you are their mother." Kusanagi hid his smile behind his hand, but amusement was transparent in his face. The shorter blond joined him laughing. "No thanks, I can't be held responsible for so many kids. Speaking of which, how about the Blue King? He has lots of children too, refined even." Totsuka gave a meaningful, secretive look, but his eyes twinkled with mischief.

The bartender gave him a disdained look and shuddered involuntarily. "You scared me. He is more like a stepmother or a mother-in-law."

The blond started to walk pass through him and giggled airily, "That's mean, Kusanagi. Let's go, shall we?" Kusanagi started to take out another cigarette from his pocket, lighting it up with his lighter and followed the younger blond.

* * *

"I have the confirmation of HOMRA's movement!" Hidaka ran in hurry, nearly knocking the nearby furniture as he dashed while holding a report paper to Seri. The blonde lieutenant glanced back from her shoulder, putting a halt on Fushimi's verbal report in the middle.

Seri let her subordinate to catch his breath, panting heavily before her before she replied him with a smile. "Yes, I have heard it personally from Fushimi. I will lead the emergency squad and we will leave this instant."

Hidaka took a peek through Seri's shoulder and met the usual grumpy, highly proficient third commander in rank typed furiously on his PDA and organized the team in light speed. "Whoa, Fushimi, how do you find it out so fast?" The latter only replied him with a short glance and little nod before he walked away from them politely to make a call.

Seri tapped on the almond-eyes officer and made a gesture to follow her to the other direction. "Come on, Hidaka. We have no time to waste." Hidaka threw a last look at the raven-haired commander making a call before he turned around on his heel and followed Seri obediently. Despite being a woman, Seri's striding pace was too fast that Hidaka found himself half-running to go after her.

"Be prepared for battle. I need surveillance and medic teams within area in next 15 minutes. Fushimi had inquired the police department for assistance to secure the perimeter within 10 km and evacuate the citizen in the area." Seri pushed the paperwork on her hand to his chest. "I've signed all the necessary document following our normal procedures; we will proceed and head off in five minutes."

Hidaka scrambled on the nearly falling papers in his arms while trying to keep up with Seri. "Where are we heading out, Lieutenant?"

Seri halted immediately, and if not for his reflex, he would have hit his nose on her back. She tilted her head a little, but not enough for him to get a good look at her expression while she was answering him. "We will follow the HOMRA to Sir Daikaku Kokujoji's residence." An eerie pause entered the hallway. Getting no response she expected, Seri moved on and made her way to her office to retrieve her beloved sword as she whispered under her breath. "Four kings in one place…This is the first time in history."

It finally dawned on Hidaka when the mahogany door to Seri's office was shut before him and he screamed in panic in the empty passage, "Ehh!?"

* * *

"Whoa…this place is totally a mess." Isana rambled airily in low voice, looking around the place in awe as they sneaked around to get inside the Gold King's residence by using Neko's ability to obscure their presence through the swarm of policemen holding up the barrier line and the front line group of Red Clan. Apparently HOMRA was getting prepared for an ambush that they were too focused in guarding the front, and missing a small spot from the sideline of the entrance. "I wonder if this is caused by Red King." Neko shifted closer to him and carefully watched her feet, wary of the glass shards and wood splinters all around the place until they had hidden behind a dark wall with veiled tunnel.

Kuroh quickly pushed them to the black passageway after he had confirmed that they were not being discovered while several men walked around on the lobby with a metallic bat on their shoulders, keeping watch. Once he had closed the obscured flipping door, Kuroh sighed heavily and made a gesture to make them stepping forward. "I think so. The damage is too severe for a normal bombing unless they use tons of explosive simultaneously. I have evaluated the debris on the floor, and I cannot smell anything chemical to cause normal detonation."

"Hmm…this area is impossibly big. Where this tunnel will end up, I wonder?" Isana suggestively questioned, almost as if he was asking himself while he kept moving forward with Neko tugging on his hem of black jacket, glancing back and forth anxiously.

Kuroh sneaked a glance at the white-haired student through Neko's head. "I still cannot figure why the culprit leads the Red Clan here. I can't imagine he could hide under the nose of Gold King all this time, so he must have sneaked in as well."

Isana put his finger under his chin, contemplating seriously. "I think he wants to create chaos here for some reason. Well, we better keep moving now."

Kuroh nodded in agreement though none of them could see it with the lack of light inside the tunnel. "Just be careful and don't bump your head or stumble on your feet." He even emphasized his words with a hard pat on Neko's head that gained him a cute pout from the cherry-haired strain. Isana replied with a soft laugh and he turned around to give a mocking salute to Kuroh inside the small tunnel. "Yes, mom!"

Like usual, his behavior was insulting but somehow Isana's innocent smile made Kuroh felt a nagging fluttering butterflies in his stomach. He quickly snapped, trying to hide his slight blush to his ears and pretend to be angry at him, "Stop being absurd!"

* * *

"Finally we get into the surveillance room." Kusanagi sighed as he flopped down on a vacant chair in front of the monitor. He looked down at the unconscious Gold Clansmen on the floor apologetically. 'Sorry, but we need to find that guy soon.' When Anna got herself comfortable on a seat next to Totsuka, Mikoto walked to Kusanagi and tapped his shoulder. The bartender glanced back at him from the monitor and asked wonderingly in chorus with the other blond, "Mikoto?" The Red King only replied with a silent nod and turned around as he announced his leaving mutely. The young Anna looked tempted to tug on the edge of Mikoto's jacket, but she hesitated at last, letting her King to be alone. Totsuka patted on her head gently with a smile, "King will be alright. He is quite powerful, isn't he?" The young strain nodded with her head down, but her melancholy had faded from her petite face.

Kusanagi flipped open his phone and put it to his ear after dialing a number, "Yata? Yeah, keep looking out okay? Blues will certainly come anytime soon, and we can't have them wrecking the party. We have enough crowds here already." A pause. "Well, I don't think they will back down peacefully, so just keep them busy as much as you can. Be careful."

The monitor screens flickered as they kept switching to various points of view in most corner of Gold King's residence. Kusanagi cracked his stiff fingers while leaning back on the chair, "Well, time to work. Let's find the mouse, shall we?"

* * *

"Lieutenant, they have infiltrated to the monitor room and take full control over the security system." Fushimi nonchalantly reported to his communication device on his ear while the rest of surveillance teams were typing furiously on the computer keyboard. Across the road where their van had parked, Seri stood quietly, observing the Gold King's quarters from the front, which had been charred to dust. In a glance, Seri could name the culprit already at the handiwork and they never failed to surprise her with their brute forces.

"Do you think you can take over their security control, Fushimi?" Seri crossed her arms under her bosoms, keeping a watch from crumbling door at the base of the highest authority of Japan. She tilted her head up to stare at the tall twin tower. Nevertheless, from the ground beneath the building, she could not make out its top. She only had ever accompanied her King up to her current spot, thus she never figured out how much floors the whole building had. With Fushimi's hacking skill, it would be a matter of time before they could get the blue print of the building, at least in general, because as far as rumor said, this building was erected with various secret chamber and pathway. For worse, there were several strains among Gold King's Clansmen possessing the power of sensory manipulation like the strain that currently tagging along with the suspect of Colorless King and Black Dog, especially skilled to drift any intruder inside the giant maze.

She whirled around on her heels and observed the surrounding. They had worked fast and within 15 minutes, the citizens nearby had been evacuated and the whole area had been barricaded with yellow police line. The district was almost entirely deserted, with only theScepter 4 remained inside the perimeter and outside from Gold King's territory. However, considering that this place might turn into a clashing battlefield with four kings inside (three effective kings in combat), she had requested for wider blockade neighborhood but it would take time to accomplish for the security department.

Seri could only pray that something with the scale like Kagutsu Crater would not occur, especially in the middle of bustling city with several skyscrapers structures encircling Gold King's dwelling. It would be a terrible loss, considering they would lose a major, vital district from political aspects and the damage would cost quite a fortune of the whole country. And she would be obliged to her duty to see such diplomatic end.

She shivered a bit when a sudden gust blew through her. Her short skirt scarcely covered her bare legs and during this turnover interlude of season, she wished that she had worn her stocking before she went for HQ in the morning. The sky was unearthly gray without lightning though a tint of sunrays was still hazily visible behind the clouds. The season had changed and winter was almost at their front door. Now they only had to wait for the first snowflake to fall in exchange of autumn leaves, to speak the volume that the chilling winter had just arrived.

When she was still in daze, Fushimi had climbed off the van and walked to her side. "We have the blue print, lieutenant and though I'm confident it is within my ability to hijack their security, I would not be able to accompany you to the dispatched team."

Seri gave a curt nod and held out her PDA to him. "It's okay, come with me, Fushimi. We need more capable people in securing the quarter against HOMRA. Send to my PDA the blue print."

Silent moments passed when Fushimi transmitted the data over to Seri's PDA while the rest of dispatched team assembling in spot not far from them. When a loud of notification note rang, Seri swiftly opened the file and skimmed through the map while Fushimi went away to join his colleagues, shifting his sword in position on his waist belt.

After giving a quick study of the blue print, Seri walked toward her team in horizontal line and they made a quick salute to her in unison. She copied the gesture and quickly announced, "As you have noticed, we are in the property of second King, Gold King, Lord Daikaku Kokujoji. We have to show our respect toward him by providing assistance to our utmost capability, so not to shame the name of Scepter 4. Our priority objective would be to detain HOMRA and every individual related to Red Clan and the Colorless Clan in case they resist. The next objective would be to ascertain the safety of Captain and Gold Clansmen."

They sneaked glances at each other with meaningful look, but none of them voiced their objection. After all, it was not necessary. Deep down, they all understood that including their lieutenant, their priority was in fact the other way around. The foremost reason for them to gather here was nothing less than to find their Captain and evacuate him as far as possible from danger. Anything else could wait. What they had been thinking in their head would gain a wrath from their King if he knew, but it would worth it if it meant of keeping their esteemed King safe. On the other hand, their Captain in the end never expressed his fury in front of them blatantly anyway so they would not bother to worry about it at the moment.

Seri realized what they had been thinking from their shared glances, but she chose not to remark on it. She took a deep breath before she whirled around with her back facing her subordinates and spread her right arm straight in the air. "March forward!"

Behind her, Fushimi smirked while scratching at the burning symbol on his chest, looking amused. He could feel it as clear as the day that his beloved had waited just inside the lobby waiting for his arrival. Several meters away, beyond the flight of stairs to the lobby, the red vanguard impulsively turned his head back and stayed silent as he watched at the empty broken Japanese entrance.

Kamamoto noticed the sudden change in Yata's endeavor and it piqued his interest. "What's wrong, Yata?"

Yata remained focused on the same spot and whispered almost inaudibly. "He is here. The Blues are here."

Kamamoto tensed instantly and brushed his blonde hair, "Should we take a stand in front of the elevator? Kusanagi has told us to keep them away for a while, until King finds the culprit."

The red vanguard glanced down at the dusty with shattered marble floor, looking hesitant for a while before he flipped his hat backward with a sharp gaze. "I'm sure they are here for their King. Let's just keep them busy for a moment here until Mikoto has finished the target."

Confirming his sixth sense, Yata could hear the sound of numerous footsteps climbing up the flight of stairs, almost in unison. Without doubt, it would be a group trained for military. Yata gripped tighter his skateboard and gestured for the whole crewmates to gather near him and block the path to front elevators with their number. In order to access the building, the Blues only had the option of using elevators or emergency stairs. However, considering the hundreds floor it had, Scepter 4 would have no other alternative but to force their ways to the elevators.

Just as he expected, before long, he could distinguish the golden hair catching the light of sun tasseled up into a bun and her stern azure eyes coming into the view across the lobby. As she advanced, several familiar men in similar cobalt uniform took position before her, standing in perfect line, with their hands folded together at their back. Both group were separately only by several meters away, already glaring at each other, hinting not to disturb the other.

Yata felt a sudden sting in his chest when his eyes finally landed on the most memorable raven-haired Blue Clan's member. He knew that this moment would come, especially since he sent the invitation by himself, personally delivered to Fushimi. He still had mixed feeling toward Scepter 4, but Yata was certain that his pure abhorrence toward Blue Clan was unusual for his character. If Fushimi had never left to Scepter 4, he would only feel vague soreness toward Blues after all. If he had to give a name to his abnormal abhorrence toward Scepter 4, it would be jealousy. He actually had a share of resentment toward Munakata, for stealing Fushimi away from him. If he was not there to charm his best friend and give him a place and meaning to stay, maybe Fushimi would not be so willing to leave his side.

Nevertheless the cracks in their bond were there inevitably. Sooner or later they would still drift apart as it was, and Yata was just too naïve back then to think that nothing would be able to stand between them. He had started to take Fushimi's presence for granted.

The red vanguard had realized when he once talked to Tatara, just after his near-death experience in the hospital when he had volunteered to keep guarding the blond until Kusanagi brought Tatara's exchange clothes. The topic strayed from the eventful night into Scepter 4, and somehow leading to certain traitor who had run to abandon HOMRA to Blue Clan. The blond had smiled at him and put his hand assuring on top of Yata's while he asked rhetorically. "Next time you meet him, think it yourself. Would you prefer to never see him again or see him dead…or would you prefer to meet him despite all the circumstance between you?"

His short temper mind quickly answered before he even gave any thought. His answer was automatic like a machine, just like many times he had blurted out. "It will be better if he just drop dead."

Nevertheless, Tatara's amber eyes serenely stared straight into his, piercing through his soul without condemn, but with wisdom. His compassionate smile never left his lips. Whenever Tatara was around, it was difficult to remain aggravated with the air around him like calm water. After a stifling minute, he finally stopped being angry about everything and lowered his eyes to the floor, for once imagined the day he would no longer have to see Fushimi.

He was always a person of action. Yata could never stay still, or else he would tend to over think a lot of things that he just wished to forget. The pain of betrayal would always gush out whenever he encountered Fushimi; so much that he wished he could just kill a certain cynical man at sight. However, occasionally during idle times, he would remember the trivial happy moments they have shared when he saw passing male students in uniform, chatting happily about games or closing exams on the road. Or when he went pass his favorite café shop before he joined HOMRA, where Fushimi would always order a cup of black coffee, without milk but a block of sugar, and he would order a similar drink with a lot of milk, trying to copy Fushimi and act like an adult prematurely. Once he reminisced, he would always wonder when their path had started to diverge and why they could no longer be happy together. No hatred filled him, but simply yearning. During that moment, his resoluteness to break the bond entirely by his own hands wavered.

Almost with a knowing smile, Tatara tilted his head and put his finger on his lips. "You know, Yata. It's like Hedgehog's Dilemma."

"Huh?" The red-haired man cocked his head, confused.

Tatara snorted a bit to his healthy hand and explained slowly. "It's analogy, Yata. You know that porcupine has spine, right? Then when winter comes, they wish to huddle together and stay warm. But when they get too close, they end up hurting each other." Tatara paused, momentarily thinking back to his King and his secret affiliation with certain blue-haired king. "When they try to stay apart, they can't; don't want to be separated to the point where they could not feel each other because it will become unbearable, not because of the cold of snow, but the cold of heart."

Yata still looked half puzzled, but Tatara patiently waited. "Just like you and Fushimi, maybe you both haven't found the perfect distance between you. Sometimes, the closer you are, the more hurt you will bear and you might not realize how the other or you had hurt you unintentionally. Humans are so complex, with all their past and fundamental character. None of us shares similar trains of thoughts since we all have different experiences in life. What hurts you, might not the same thing that hurts Fushimi, vice versa. Just because you don't want to see him, doesn't mean that you don't want his companion at all. It just means you need to keep further distance between you."

What hurt him the most was that he could no longer be the sole existence for Fushimi to live. However, he could no longer blame the latter, deep inside his heart. After all, Yata also had found another existence to fill his life; HOMRA. This gap between them made him think, if Fushimi had extended his hand to Yata to join Scepter 4, he would probably refuse flatly on his face. They might have led a happy life together before, but he had always known that they did not always share the same sentiment about life principles. It was usually him who adjusted to Fushimi so to avoid conflicts. But if it was about HOMRA, he could not give it up so easily, especially if Fushimi did not show his effort enough either for him. If he had to use the term that Tatara had just explained to him, he had met another porcupine to warm him, but he also still did not want to leave his partner behind. Adjusting the distance with one was difficult already. In the end, he ended up hurting Fushimi and the raven haired lashed out his fury in the most painful way and searched another hedgehog where he could also belong.

The red vanguard was solemn, taking his words to heart and when the blond gave his last advice, Yata knew that he would not be able to sleep that night. "When you are certain that you can be totally be indifferent toward him, that's the moment when you no longer want him as your porcupine partner."

When Yata finally caught a look at Fushimi, he realized that he did not mind one bit if he had to see him in battlefield, if it meant that he could see him. From Fushimi's reaction and his twisted personality, probably the latter was not able to completely to get away from him either since the raven just loved to provoke him to have a private battle between them. That meant they wanted or were still together in some sense, but they were too far apart if Yata still felt this chilling sensation inside. HOMRA kept him warm, but he wanted a different kind of warmth as well after all.

In that case, he only had to get closer even if they hurt each other and bleed until Yata could feel Fushimi again. And sometimes, to accomplish that, both of them only know one identical way to communicate; violence.

He dropped his skateboard to his foot and grinned at the dignified Blues, sparing a longest look at third commander of Scepter 4 who also watched back like a predator. "Sorry, but this way is closed momentarily."

Seri clicked her tongue and announced loudly. "We are Scepter 4. According to the property trespassing act, the whole HOMRA would be detained and have the privileged of law protection if they are to surrender in peace! We suggest you to cooperate willingly."

"Nah, thanks. We're here to bring our own justice. If you are to cooperate, we will offer protection for your King to pay our debt. We prefer not to owe you anything, Blues."

"That's utterly disappointing. You give us no choice, Yatagarasu." Seri solemnly answered, although she had known that it would always lead to this. She reached out for her sword's hilt and pulled it out of the scabbard. "Awashima, ready." She put her sword in upright position in front of her face. Following her movement, the rest of Scepter 4 members unsheathed their swords in order until at last Fushimi to pull out his sword. He grinned giddily at Yata, locking his vision on his prey. As if to answer the challenge, Yata put his head higher pompously when he yelled at his friends, "You heard them. No one is allowed to pass through here!"

A chorus of fierce shout echoed in the crumbling lobby when all of the parties involved rushed forward and engaged in combat.

* * *

Mikoto put his hands in pockets as he strolled around the unfamiliar hallway aimlessly, pushing his luck in finding the location of the Colorless King. He could feel the flowing sensory manipulation power of Gold King's Clansmen all through the building, but he easily dismissed it away with every step he took. Mikoto only wished that he did not have to encounter the Gold King anytime soon, since he would hate to be lectured and he had to reserve every bit of his power to kill the Colorless King, without putting additional risk of deteriorating Sword of Damocles any further. He still felt resent for Munakata's good will, but Mikoto would not be wasting it if he could.

He kept going under, walking down the stairs until he was on intersection between two passages. Relying on his instinct, Mikoto took the left winding pathway leading to a small, Japanese garden inside the building. When he was about to take the turn, from the periphery of his vision, he caught a glimpse of shadows ambushing from behind. The attackers were fast, but not enough to even land a hit on Mikoto. He called forth his fire to defend himself against the sharp object in his attackers' hand. The sound of knives clattered on the mat and a brief pained groan rang in the room. In a flash, he whirled around to kick on his offender's side and simultaneously the victim collided with the other assailant, crashing together to the nearby pillars. When Mikoto glanced down to find out the identity of his assailants, he found two guards with rabbit masks and black coat slumped on the floor, unconscious. He sighed in disappointment, half-expecting his prey, but apparently hunting the Colorless King was not supposedly that easy.

Mikoto scowled in frustration; he did not like to admit it, but Gold King's house was absolutely like a gigantic meandering maze, and he did not have enough patience and time to memorize the house's blue print in his head. He scratched the back of his neck with a sigh when a faint, almost imperceptible scent hit him and before he realized it, his feet had quickly carried him to follow the familiar smell.

The antiseptic scent grew stronger with every second and Mikoto without thinking strode faster, ignoring his surroundings until he was before the mirror sliding door, panting slightly. There was a device for security code tampered broken by the wall, and he decided that it was probably unnecessary for him to use the device. Mikoto quietly stood before the door, before it shut open mechanically as if realizing his presence and giving access for him.

The white room was still like how he remembered before, but there was no longer beeping sound breaking the silence that was once familiar to his ears, but it was replaced by constant whirring noise like a broken machine. The Red King progressed carefully to the deepest chamber, where he would find Munakata on his bed. As he expected when he stepped inside the isolation room, the Blue King was still in his deep slumber peacefully and his complexion was paler compared to the last time he saw him. He spent a few seconds to survey the room and sighed in relief when he could not sense any other presence inside the chamber. Mikoto was about to approach the sole patient before he caught a glimpse of slight twitch on Munakata's finger. He waited patiently with calm elation as a pair of violet eyes slowly cracked open and stared at the empty ceiling in stupor.

The red-head king was startled when the latter coughed a little and abruptly rushed to the blue-haired man's side, putting one of Munakata's cold hands into his, whispering quietly almost in fear that he was hallucinating. "Munakata."

Munakata did not respond as if he did not hear him. Mikoto remained silent to allow Munakata some space and time to adjust with his sudden awakening before he called him again louder, tightening his grip. Munakata blinked twice to chase away the fog in his eyes, dazed, before he leisurely turned his head to see another presence by his side. His amethyst orbs stared perplexedly at the red-haired king as if in confusion before a light of recognition dawned on his eyes. The Blue King weakly twitched the corner of his mouth up into a small smile as he tried in throaty voice, as a side effect of prolonged unused vocal cord, "Mikoto…"

Mikoto's hands twitched on Munakata's cool one, before he gripped it tighter as if trying to share his body warmth through their slight skin contact. "I never expect you to wake up anytime soon."

The latter gave a soft, hoarse laugh as Munakata leaned on his left arm, facing Mikoto, trying to support his body weight and sit up. The Red King swiftly put his hand behind Munakata's back and gave a hard push to help him sitting straight up. The Blue King exhaled as he sat feebly slouched and stared at his thin arms, almost devastated. Mikoto pulled a chair nearby for him to enable him looking at Munakata at similar eye level. He kept attentive watch at Munakata, observing his every little move, fully anticipating if the blue-haired man needed help with anything. Before long, Munakata stared back at Mikoto and smiled at him as he approached close and rested his hand on Mikoto's clenched fists on his lap. "What has happened? Why are you here? Where is this?"

"I just found you." The Red King tensed up, barely answering any question. He was not accustomed to interact with pleasant side of Munakata since their warped relationship was often laced with sardonic grins and verbal abuse. Mikoto assumed the Blue King was not exactly fully alert yet, and waited for the minute when Munakata would realize his blunder and unleash his anger out of mortification at him.

But the moment never came even after a long waiting. The latter only hummed in response and clasped his fingers in Mikoto's without feeling awkward. The crimson-head almost wanted to laugh at the irony; even though Munakata's slender fingers had become more delicate with less muscle mass, they still fitted perfectly in his. Nevertheless the fact that their bodies seemed to suit each other, Munakata always kept his distance before the incident; always reserved himself from touching Mikoto, let alone lacing their hands together. Even when their hands found each other at the peak of their bliss moment and his mind was fully engaged, Munakata would abruptly extricate his fingers as the torrent of pleasure drifted away as if Mikoto had just burnt his skin from their fleeting contact. To his chagrin, Munakata could only indulge himself when he was less sober after all.

He was startled immediately when Munakata disentangled his hand and made a sudden move, reaching out for the small table located next to his bed. His alarmed expression, at the same time also alerted Munakata, who stopped his extending hand hanging in the air to glance back at his only visitor, "What?"

A pair of golden eyes focused on the objects on the table, feeling irrational for his unfounded fear when Mikoto saw him reaching out for an empty cup with a bottle of water next to it. There were also a medicine bottle, a pack of sterile dressing, adhesive plaster and a metal scissor that made Mikoto staring at it warily. He swiftly bent forward to grab the water before Munakata could stretch and hurt himself unintentionally in the process. Mikoto poured the water inside the glass until the cup was almost overflowed before he thrust it to the speechless patient in front of him. The blue-haired man awkwardly took the glass, while accidentally brushed against Mikoto's fingers. "Thank you."

If Munakata felt uncomfortable under his intent gaze, he did not express it. The Blue King simply drank up the glass until it was empty and licked his chapped lips. Mikoto steeled himself not to stare, thus he made an offering gesture for more water but the latter shook his head quietly and returned the plastic glass back to Mikoto. Just as soon as Mikoto put them back on the table, he felt a weak tug on his sleeve jacket and an anxious Munakata grabbing for his arms. "Please help me getting out of this place, Mikoto."

Mikoto stared at him in disbelief and he narrowed his eyes ominously. "You're not going anywhere like this." But the ivory hand in his sleeve firmly stayed, "Mikoto…Please."

The red-haired king pulled back his arm harshly, shooting up straight away with a glare. Whether Munakata is sick or not, Mikoto felt something amiss with current him that he almost did not recognize him if not for Munakata's face. His posture was wrong, everything about him was wrong, and Mikoto could not see his lover in the man in front of him. Accidentally he knocked back his chair and it rattled as it fell on the floor. Mikoto averted his eyes for moment to look at the object on the floor and his eyes widened when he saw another thing from the corner of his eyes. Near the foot of the bed side across him, he could see a pair of leg, barely protruding out, mostly hidden previously by the large-sized bed causing him to overlook the presence.

Mikoto's face stiffened and anguish was apparent on his expression before he solemnly scowled in small voice. "I found you." In a blink of eye, Mikoto sprung at the man on the bed and put his hands on Munakata's throat, strangling him with cold, merciless eyes.

Munakata was taken aback and he looked tormented with misery and surprise, gasping as his lungs started to demand for oxygen. "Mikoto!? Why?"

Mikoto replied with a wry smirk but his grasp was still on Munakata's neck, bruising the skin into angry red marks in the shape of his hands. "He never calls my name." He thought bitterly. Munakata always used his last name; not even when they spent night until dawn together, not even when Mikoto suggested him to do so.

The Blue King whimpered and bit his lips and shed a tear rolling down to his chin as he reached out for Mikoto's hands squeezing his throat. The Red King instinctively loosened his grip a little at Munakata's pained expression. The latter took his chance to bite Mikoto's hand and scrambled away while coughing until his back hit the headboard when he finally broke free from the Red King's killing grip. Mikoto leisurely assessed his wounded hand as the quiet atmosphere hung dangerously between them. He nearly shuddered when he heard a harsh laugh escaping from Munakata's lips. "Whoa, Red King, that's really mean. Guess the play time is over."

In a blink of eye, Munakata sneered at him with wicked smirk, and quickly grabbed the scissor on the small table which was quite closer to him than Mikoto before the Red King could stop him. The blue-haired man swiftly tugged his side bang behind his ears while his other hand dangerously twirled the metal scissor near his pulsating vein on the neck. "You are a bother. I have just begun feasting Blue Aura, you know." Munakata glanced up at him with a mocking look, "How about…" He pulled the appendages, sliding the sharp blade side against the bruising skin, digging it deeper until a drop of blood trailed down the collar, "if you wait there until I finish feasting? This Blue Aura gives me a hard time too. It's protecting the core like an onion. I need time to eat away those layers."

Mikoto smirked as a reply, without blinking his eyes even for a second. "And let you get away? I can't pass the opportunity to kill you."

The Colorless King leaned back and cackled crudely with a shrill of laughter, nevertheless Mikoto noticed a faint quiver on his shoulders. "You have to kill this man to kill me, you know. There is no way you can kill this man! You showed quite affection before. Too bad, but I can see it. How hilarious, Blue and Red Kings who supposed to be enemies; who would guess that you are…" Munakata put his finger on his lips with a glint of malice, "…friends? No, let me rephrase that. Lovers?"

Mikoto impassively glared at Colorless King, contemplating his moves. In Blue King's current condition, Colorless King probably could not flee this place without possessing another body. However, at the same time, every second he wasted meant every pieces of Munakata's Blue Aura stolen away. He had to take action anytime soon, with every intention to hurt or even kill. The moment Colorless King stripping everything away from Munakata, his Blue King would be nothing but an empty shell and he could not afford seeing him like that. Mikoto knew that he had no heart to torture the other man to chase away the Colorless King, since Munakata would be the one receiving the damage in the end. He had to frighten the Colorless King into dire situation where he had no choice but to leave Munakata's body. If everything did not work, he should give one-hit blow, ending Munakata's suffering. The Blue King would certainly tell him to do so, if it meant to stop the wicked King from gaining tremendous power. All Mikoto needed was his resoluteness to the possibility of inflicting the critical damage but even his Aura wavered in hesitation.

"How about if you let me eat yours when I'm done with Blue? I promise I won't hurt his body and you should be happy to be together with him inside me!" The Colorless King spread his arms in crazed glee. At that opening, Mikoto lunged forward at Munakata, pinning down the latter on the bed and gripping Munakata's skinny hands with his hand while the other summoned the flame, feeding it into giant fire ball as Red Aura leaked out from his body. The possessed man under him flailed around in panic, but to no avail with Munakata's weakening muscles. Mikoto indistinctly mouthed a whisper with closed eyes as he summoned his Sword of Damocles, "I'm sorry."

"Stop! Please!" The Colorless King pleaded and his plea in Munakata's voice sounded eerie for Mikoto since the latter never begged pathetically.

"I will kill you if you don't leave him alone." He growled threateningly, "He is mine."

"What kind of man are you to kill your own lover!?" The Colorless King screamed in panic but Mikoto did not falter.

Mikoto was about to land a fatal hit on Munakata when he heard the clatter sound just outside the isolation room and the sudden intrusion shattered his focus. His eyes widen at surprise when he saw the familiarly striking white-haired student stood before him, who was equally startled at the fierce sight in front of him and his own carelessness for stumbling on nearby medical portable cabinet. Even the Black Dog gaped at him, completely confused by Mikoto's attempt in committing murder on Blue King. Yashiro weakly started, "What in the world…?"

The next second, Mikoto could see a flash of black from the corner of his eyes running beside him. Mikoto spontaneously thought of the body the Colorless King had borrowed to reach the medical wing. When he whirled around to follow the shadow's trail, he saw the Colorless King possessing one of Gold Clansmen, running and crashing against Yashiro with the scissor and wild grin, stabbing him on the upper side of his stomach. A pair of amber eyes widened in shock while a feminine shriek echoed inside the room, "Shiro!"

The sudden turn of event was so fast that Mikoto remained still on top of Munakata, completely dumbfounded. Yatogami abruptly struck the rabbit guard and disarmed him by hitting his hand. The metal shear flew across the room and the raven-haired vassal whirled the Colorless King and pinned him down on the floor with his wrist restrained at his back. Instead of scrambling in fear, the guard cackled like a mad animal, "I have to hand it to you, I didn't think you'd survive!"

"I won't let you get away this time!"

Mikoto flinched when he felt a sudden warp of space engulfing the medical chamber. He could sense the strange power and recognize it as current Colorless King's ability. Inside the monochrome world, they could see clearly the shape of fox spirit which had caused chaos and suspicions among Clans. The Red King shuddered with tremendous anticipation to rapidly grasp the Colorless King's straying soul and end his life while he was no longer inside the Blue King, even if he had to initiate a losing war against Gold King for murdering his Clansman. It would be best if the fox decided to get inside Yashiro so to avoid further mess although he had concluded that Yashiro in the end was no more but another victim, another shell to be borrowed. The Black Dog would not make things easy for him, but with his Aura, he could easily take on the female strain and Ichigen's vassal.

For now, he could only observe how things would unfold inside the black and white sphere, guarding the hollow body under him.

* * *

Isana was taken aback in surprise, but his mind could not anticipate fast enough to reflexively close his eyes or prevent the fox spirit from trespassing into the depth of his soul. As the spirit swam deeper into his consciousness, Isana also started to have flashes of various memories from several people that had been possessed by the Colorless King, starting from the most recent, this assaulting rabbit guard, up until the starting point. He gasped when he saw his own face and his own body as the first one to be swallowed in this circle of madness. Nevertheless, somehow on the back of his mind, a voice told him that this vessel did not belong to him. It felt strange, that he began to doubt now when such thought never crossed his mind before.

He hugged himself closer, trying to rid of the chill that creeping up to the back of his nape. The air around him was stagnant, suffocating him with pressure and alienation like rejection of the soul by the body host. The bleary, infinite space of darkness also consumed him, like overwhelming until he was without trace and such thought terrified him. When he finally felt that he was no longer alone in this warped place, a mocking voice echoed inside his mind, ringing like a clear sound of bell. Colorless King's words left him with invisible, stinging pains even though his mind could not process what the latter had been trying to tell him.

His soul felt like being bared naked as the fox spirit swirled around him, telling him that he was an ignorant fool for living a life with fabricated memories and he had deserted his responsibility.

'What responsibility?' Isana wanted to scream, but his voice was caught in his throat.

"You lost once already, and ran away to find a peaceful life." A spiteful screech could be heard again, and Isana could feel the condemning, bulging eyes in every side of him. A transient image of a smiling, bright face of a fine-looking female with gleaming silver hair flashed behind his eyes. Isana knelt on the ground, panting with the sudden headache striking him. He knew that he should not forget that figure, like she was so precious and dear that he would prefer to be dead than to be parted from her, yet he could not even recall her name or her supposedly melodic voice. However, from the distant of his soul, he could hear a gentle voice, calling for a name he had learned that it belonged to the first king, "Weismann."

"Isn't that how you want it? Deep down inside, you wanted a life like the one you're living now." The Colorless King whispered to his ears suggestively. The stabbing pain worsened when he began to wonder what kind of life he was supposed to have to begin with. Was everything in his memories really nothing but a sham? Was him living as a normal, young student from normal, happy family without anything extraordinary about him actually lies? Just his imagination?

"That's fine! Nothing wrong with that." A loud noise filled his blank head, hypnotizing him. "Sleep…without remembering anything!" The dull headache instantly assaulted him into a big wave of piercing pain. No matter how hard he pressed his head or closed his ears with his hands, the pain only doubled over. "Let your body go to the place where silence and peace are kept."

Like a curse, the Colorless King kept chanting the word until it became unbearable for Isana. "Be nothing!"

The scenery suddenly averted and it was quite clear and familiar, he was certain that it was his own recollection. A certain soldier stood before him, trying to persuade him from leaving with his angry baritone voice, "Are you running away!?"

Before he could utter the name of that young soldier, a high pitched female voice shouted out his name, knocking him out of his trance. When he stared to the distant in daze, Kuroh hurriedly stood by his side and vigorously seized his shoulders, as if to support him and snap him back out of his reverie. "Hey, are you okay?" The color of raven instantly filled his vision as Kuroh took a hold of him with worry.

Tremendous exhaustion and heartbreak hit him at once, and Isana slumped forward into Kuroh's embrace. Neko swiftly came to him to help him standing still, in fear of his wound getting worse.

At that instant, the Gold guard dashed to his escape exit, grinning madly. Kuroh whirled around automatically and quickly called forth his extending shadow hand to capture the runaway Colorless King, letting Neko to attend to Isana. "Wait! You!"

"Whatever!" The guard glanced back and laughed at them. "I'll deal with you later!"

When Kuroh's crystalline shadow hand almost grabbed for his shoulder, the Colorless King whirled around and deflected it with a flicker of translucent, sapphire plate as he raised his hand before it shattered into blue dust upon collision.

Mikoto's eyes widened at the defensive ability that the Colorless King had just displayed. At the same time, Kuroh gasped in surprise and took the battle stance, preparing to unsheathe his sword and initiate a battle. In contrary, the Colorless King clicked his tongue and scowled, "Shit…only this much? Damn Blue Aura." The fox spirit started to crawl out of the guard's eye, trying to make contact with Kuroh's raven eyes, but the swordsman quickly averted his eyes away while putting his hand in front of his face to block the Colorless King from entering his soul.

The second he squinted his right eye, the Colorless King had fled from the white chamber from the sole exit.

Mikoto exhaled in frustration; the Colorless King had again slipped away from him. Nevertheless, he would prefer a battle where that evil king could not touch Munakata or possess other people, or worse his Clansmen in a pinch situation. If he wanted to corner the man, he had no choice but to push the latter to the end of the road alone. The Red King watched impassively at the unconscious Blue King and the crimson marks around his throat. He trailed his fingers a bit at the wound, almost like an apologetic gesture before he swiftly cradled Munakata's head and put the pillow beneath it and tucked the falling, white blanket back on top of him. With his fingers, he brushed away the stray hairs on Munakata's face and once he was pleased with his work, Mikoto pulled back without another look and whirled around as he strolled to where Isana was lying down.

Neko still screamed for his name in panic and her voice quivered, "Shiro! Don't die!" Kuroh rushed to kneel by his side and put his hand on Neko's shoulder assuring without leaving his eyes on the white-haired boy. "Keep still! I'll apply first-aid!"

However, Isana could no longer hear their voices. He could see the stream of his memories swirling back into his mind, reminding him of his guilty past, his failure and his sin. Behind his almond eyes, he no longer saw the blinding light and white ceiling of the medical room, but the underground shelter in Dresden palace, his smiling sister, his awkward but strict old friend, and at last the enormous stone plate engraved with patterns and ancient writings in a ruin. He could remember the heat of sea of flames surrounding him, the deafening sound of falling bombs and human cries, the burning smell of dirty dust and charred innocent bodies, and the crimson color like deadly flowers of the night. On that fateful night, how he wished that the Dresden Slate would not bestow him with the first throne as Silver King and let him joining his sister in afterlife. Gifted with an immortal body, he was condemned to see as his sister's life was distinguished before him and he was too late to protect his only family from harm. He recalled the frozen inside when he embraced the cold body of his dear sister. Even in her death, she still looked magnificently beautiful like morning dew in a grand white lily meadow.

He remembered the crushing heart he felt back then, when everything was stripped away from him, leaving him with nothing but hollow, meaningless life. He no longer had passion for anything else, but to spend his immortal life in solitude for millennium. Weismann could no longer bear the sadness of losing someone else, especially with his long lifespan like an everlasting vampire depicted in horror novels. No longer he counted or cared of days as his life passed by agonizingly dreary in Himmelreich, waiting for the day for another King to be willing to put out his misery.

As if unlocking his memories served like a key to his inner soul, the Dresden Slate suddenly corresponded with him and a surge of blinding silver light coursed into his core. He could feel a faint, warm glow growing inside him like a bud of early spring. It grew stronger, steadier with palpitating life. When his heart accepted everything, including his sin and his weakness, Isana pushed himself from the ground and sat on the floor. Kuroh's concerned face made him warm inside, "Hey! Get a hold of…"

Isana quietly mustered his Aura and steadily stood up, leaving his friends in awe. Mikoto halted just behind the Black Dog, utterly surprised when he suddenly felt a familiar current coursing in his body from Isana. The instant the silver light blazed into a platinum pillar piercing the sky and the Sword of Damocles took a clear form above the building, Mikoto realized that there was no way he could prevail against this man.

However, for normal people who possessed no sensitivity to recognize the other king power, Kuroh took a step back while keeping a close watch at Isana. "What happened?! Never mind, what about your wound?!" Neko also pestered on him, worried about his wound.

Mikoto put his hands in his pocket and stared at Isana suspiciously. "Calm down, cat. He won't die."

As if to answer him, Isana opened his almond eyes and smiled gently at three persons in front of him. When his tranquil voice rang inside the room, none of them could decipher his language. If Mikoto had to make a guess, he would place a bet that it was Germany. To give them proof, he lifted up his jacket uniform and showed the nonexistent wound. Not even a drop of blood was spilled on the white shirt.

Kuroh lowered his head a little before he hesitantly stated, "Then you're really the Colorless King?"

Mikoto felt tremendous urge to smack the raven-haired vassal's head. How could he still not recognize the rank of his own master with all these hints? However, he remained quiet behind the stage with audible sigh. With a perceptive look, Isana glanced at Mikoto's golden eyes and laughed a little for his impatience.

He shook his head leisurely and put his hand on his chest. Isana reverted talking in Japanese language once again. "My name is Adolph K. Weismann. The first and silver king."

 


	9. End of crossing roads

“ _There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle_.” - Albert Einstein  
  


* * *

 

"What is the meaning of this?" Mikoto pushed Neko out of the way, as gentle as he could be toward a woman and stood tall before the cheery young student. Neko hissed back at him indignantly for being treated roughly, compared to how Shiro and Kuroh acted toward her, but the crimson king ignored her existence entirely.

"As I have told you, I'm the Silver King. Probably this is our first time to officially meet, the third and the current Red King, Suoh Mikoto?" Isana tilted his head with a composed smile, thrusting his right hand for Mikoto to handshake, but the latter gave a suspicious stare at the hand, thus the Silver King pulled back his hand with a voluntary sigh.

Mikoto glared down at the amber eyes menacingly. "I don't care who you are. Just answer me, are you the one who hurt my people?"

Isana scratched the back of his neck and smiled with hidden meaning, "I wonder if that also means if I'm the one who hurt _your_ Blue King?" Mikoto's eyebrow twitched a little bit, but he spoke nothing. Glancing up to watch the furious king, Isana's posture was thoroughly unfazed with intimidation. "Yes and no. This body, which belongs to someone unrelated to Dresden Slate, was directly involved with that assassination attempt, but I was not the one who hurt your clansman or Blue King. Regardless all the reason, from the memories of Colorless King, I also have a role on the incident."

"What do you mean?" Kuroh hastily interrupted that gained a heartbreaking beam from the white-haired man.

Isana rested his hand on his chest calmly. "His memories tell me what he is aiming all this time when he enters my consciousness previously. On that night, he waited for Himmelreich to pass through the same route like how it had been for years, while waiting for your friend, Totsuka to come. He believes that if he does that after murdering your friend and taking over my body, he will be able to play you against me. He has been aiming for you all this time, for having the most destructive power after Gold King. He also knows that HOMRA and Scepter 4 often clash, thus he intends to get Blue King once he has taken a hold on your Aura."

Mikoto clenched his teeth and his fists in rage. He had presumed that the Colorless King had been toying with them behind the stage; however the verification from Silver King had poured the oil to his fiery soul which thirsted for revenge.

Isana clasped his hands together behind his back, still beaming as he continued his explanation, "Or at least that's how he plans it." He walks passing through Mikoto swiftly to the sole bed where Munakata was still sleeping on and stopped when he was beside it, staring at the unconscious man. Mikoto tensed up, watching Isana for every little move he made, wary of what he might be doing to the blue-haired patient.

He whirled around on his heel and faced Mikoto once again; putting his hands in front of him as if attempting to convince the latter that he had no single intention to harm Munakata. "But Blue King became a contingency factor to his plan. I actually also wonder how it is possible, but looking at you being completely unruffled about this, you probably know the reason?"

Mikoto narrowed his eyes on Isana, but the latter would not back off; the Silver King would not carry on unless he also shared the information. He clicked his tongue in annoyance before he finally muttered, "A strain helped him."

Isana perked up, quite interested and he straightened up instantly. "Oh?"

"He told me that they rewound the time. That was how they stopped the Colorless King that night."

"Did they tell you what happens in the future?" Isana looked engrossed at the detail, almost to the point like an obsessed researcher. Mikoto swore he could see those amber eyes twinkling.

Mikoto shrugged, wondering if he really should tell the man, but he felt like the latter would be able to figure out something once every piece is drawn together. "We all died, except him." Mikoto lifted his hand to pinpoint to Munakata's direction. Isana followed his finger and looked at man with pale complexion. After a while, he put his finger under his chin, staring at Munakata's feature for a while. The man was nowhere as pretty as his beautiful sister, but from the standard, Blue King indeed could be classified in fine-looking group. He would not be surprised if the Red King was attracted to the sleeping king. "Did he tell you how we died?"

Mikoto stared at the ceiling, trying to recall the moment he encountered the strain. "My clansman was dead so I hunted you. He did not exactly know how it happened. All he told me that I killed you and Colorless King at the same time."

"What!?" Kuroh exclaimed angrily, already assuming the stance to fight Mikoto in case he tried to harm Isana. However, the Silver King shrugged and gazed at Kuroh, gesturing for him to lower his sword.

"Since it's about me, I think I have an idea how it went. Probably I lured the Colorless King to possess me, but with my Aura's characteristic, he could not take over me. With him inside me, I perhaps brought him to you for your revenge. You got your payback, and we both died. Since only Blue King survived, I assumed that he was the one left to kill you before you could wipe out the whole Japan from the map along with him. I think that's the most feasible explanation."

As expected from the bright mind, Mikoto almost wanted to clap his hands for Weismann being able to predict to that extent. _Almost._

Isana took a seat on the edge of Munakata's bed, being mindful not to accidentally hurt him or else Mikoto would waste his Aura to land a punch on his face and he did not like pain at all. "It's really interesting conjecture. Do you know where we can find this strain? His ability is quite dangerous if inappropriately abused.

Mikoto looked solemn for a moment. "He is probably dead by now because of his ability."

The uncomfortable pause hung in the air. "…I'm sorry." Isana slowly said.

Mikoto shrugged quietly. Isana leaped out of the bed, and it sprung immediately with the extra weight leaving it. "Now that we have gathered all the pieces, I don't intend to repeat the madness we have made in the past. Or future, I'm not certain." The young student strode fast toward Mikoto with a smiling face. "May I ask you to put aside your retribution and ask for your cooperation?"

Mikoto folded his arms in front of his chest defensively as he curtly answered, "No."

Isana gave a long, suffering sigh with gloomy smile. From a glance, one thing he was certain that Mikoto was painfully hard-headed, so much like him at some point. The only thing that could sway a man like them was if it involved their important people. That was why they would shut out the world when they lost their most beloved person. "Your friend is alive and there is hope for recovery for Blue King. They are still here, alive. We still have time to work together, thus we have everything that we don't have in another fragment of time."

The Silver King paused momentarily, observing Mikoto, hoping for miracle that he could change this fiery king's mind. "Allow me to remind you that your Weismann level is already on steady path to critical stage. If you give me time, I promise you that I will seek a way to remedy that. There are times when you have to overlook your own pain, and start to look at your close friends' instead before everything is too late." Isana smiled with a grim look. "Don't repeat my mistake. I was too drowned in my own despair and forsook my important friend and the world. Because of that, all these happen, getting back on me two-fold."

The Red King looked hollow for a moment. He could not believe in miracles, or superstitious thing like happy ending. He could not bear the thought that constantly tore apart his mind that he was a walking bomb, threatening to harm the ones that he cared about. If this bomb could be taken care soon, away from all the people, it would be for the best. Munakata would no longer frown anxiously for him anymore. He would no longer have to vision charring his friends and his city into dust anymore. While he was at it, he could even bring down the most dangerous man to hell, protecting Munakata and his Clansmen and for once accomplishing his task as a King. It was supposed to be the best solution; the best ending since it would be only a matter of time before Red Aura fully consumed him. Why delay the inevitable ending, when he could achieve much more benefits with his death now, as gallant as he could be?

But the strain indirectly slapped him with a bitter fact that none of people he held dear shared the same sentiment. As the most absolute proof, there he was, lying on the bed in exchange for Mikoto's life.

Munakata was indeed a contingency factor for him as well. He always considered the latter for being the most logical and rational person, that Munakata would absolutely choose the world and duty over him and himself. To put it negatively, the Blue King was masochistic enough to hurt himself for the benefit of the social order. Thus, if he put Mikoto, who posed to be a threat of the world before his life, it would be either because Munakata foresaw other benefits which also correspondingly provided a chance to save Mikoto or the Blue King had sent him the most passionate confession Mikoto would ever get by implicitly telling him that he was more precious than the duty Munakata had upheld. He secretly wished that it was the latter though.

If he had once again ended his life, what would Munakata do? While he was curious, he was not cruel enough to put his love in the difficult pedestal on second time. At first, he considered that it was too selfish of Munakata to ask him treading in living hell, even if it was so they could stay together. He would admit that in the corner of his heart, such thought still lingered ruthlessly. But then love was always selfish, just like how he expected his beloved violet-eyed king to get over him and keep living for Mikoto's sake as well. He understood the anguish of being left behind after experiencing it first-handed on these recent weeks. It was much more agonizing than raw mortal wound for having to live on Munakata's sacrifice. How could he blame Munakata for not moving on when he was also the same? He was done being selfish in the name of other. So far, it only dragged them into further chaos.

Living everyday like walking on thin thread while being always vigilant for not losing control against gnawing Red Aura would be infinite torment. But he had his friends that would certainly help him going through the hell. His desire not to hurt his important friends would foster his spirit to keep going on as docile as he could. If he had to uncharacteristically be an idealist, wishing that one day Silver King would find a way to put restrain on Red Aura, he would for once be one. After all, even if he was truly on the edge of the cliff, this time the Blue King could not be there to be his salvage. He was alone, and he had no choice but to fortify his will not to allow his Sword of Damocles to fall.

"You still have a lot of people who couldn't bear losing you, as much as you think of them. Won't you fight the hell for them?" Isana extended his hand toward Mikoto, waiting patiently for answer.

Mikoto bit his lower lip and reached out for Isana's hand. He would present the best confession that would deserve the most precious one.

He would live.

 

* * *

 

The sound of explosion from the distant floor underneath surprised the little strain, causing her to flinch and abruptly grab Totsuka's long sleeve, shivering like a tiny animal. The blond hastily encircled his arms around her and pulled her close into his embrace. "Don't be afraid, Anna."

The girl with ruby-colored orbs clenched tight her eyes, focusing her auditory sense to Totsuka's steady heartbeat, instead of the deafening noise. However, in another second, she could feel a faint presence of disturbingly malicious, different from air emitted by people around her. Though her fear still overwhelmed her with her petite figure shuddering wildly, she pushed away from Totsuka and leapt out of her chair, trotting hastily to the exit. Her frilly dress rustled as she moved. Kusanagi and Totsuka was too surprised and yelled out her name. "Anna! It's dangerous!"

But the silver-haired girl did not listen. She pushed open the door and looked around at the empty hallway, crammed with glass shards, wood splinters and two unconscious guards wearing the rabbit mask that Mikoto had taken out before. Anna shut her eyes and focused her senses, which in consequence lowered her physical guard. It was almost like her spirit roaming inside the building within several meters from her, scanning for the one they had been seeking. Before long, she felt a trace of cunning spirit, and just like how she could see him, the spirit also caught on her location. The fox spirit leered at her and frightened her to the core. However, she mustered all her courage to stand tall and stared back defiantly as she whispered under her breath, "I found you."

She whirled around to her right, watching to the distant dark hallway with a frown. Anna did not even notice when Totsuka had crept behind her, trying to touch her shoulder and coaxing her to get back to the safety. The blond stopped in his track when he noted that the young princess had completely detached from her surrounding to focus at one point and followed her gaze at the other side of passage casted by shadow. At first he did not see anything but hollow, infinite darkness at the end of the corridor. But when there was suddenly a glint appeared like the sole star in the night sea, Totsuka gasped in dread and impulsively grabbed Anna's lithe shoulder with his healthy hand out of the harm. The young girl also inhaled sharply when she was suddenly pulled back by a strong hand that she lost her balance and fell on top of her rescuer. With a quick glance through her shoulder, she spelled his name in horror, fearing that she had hurt him. "Tatara!"

He groaned painfully as he bumped his head on the half-closed door and his cast back shoulder on the floor when they fell horrendously with Anna sprawled on top him. His amber eyes quickly caught on glistening rubies as the little girl sat on his stomach. Totsuka gave a weak laugh at her and patted her head. "Don't cry, Anna. I'm fine. Are you hurt?"

She shook her head in fast motion. Anna did not even bother to wipe away her crystal tears that had pooled in her eyes, threatening to streak down to her chin. Seeing that she had calmed down to considerable amount, Totsuka glanced to his right, being wary of the shadow in case someone would try to hurt Anna. He voiced his worry loudly, "What was that?"

Anna glanced to her right. Not far from where they had lied, a polished knife that some of the Gold Clansmen had used was on the wooden floor. If Totsuka did not pull her in time, it would probably hit her. When she turned around to her left, she could no longer feel the malicious existence. The spirit had fled out of her visual range.

Kusanagi hurriedly ran to the door and knelt beside them in panic. "What happened!?"

"Kusanagi! The knife! There is a rabbit guard here!" One of the Clansmen exclaimed.

The blond bartender scowled at the sight and offered his hand to his friends with sour look. "Even a Gold Clansman would be so low to attack a little girl?"

Totsuka grabbed for Kusanagi's hand to lift him up once Anna pulled away from him. "Well, at least none of us gets hurt." Kusanagi was about to argue with the young man, when Anna tugged on his pants with somber look. "No, he was the one who hurt Tatara before."

Both of the blonds stared at her in surprise, but her gaze was so unwavering that they would believe her. On that moment, the phone on Kusanagi's pocket vibrated and he pulled out his phone swiftly to flip it open and was stunned for a moment when he read the name of the screen. "Just what's going on here?"

 

* * *

 

Daikaku took a step forward and snapped close his fan as he summoned his Sword of Damocles. "Come at me."

Without wasting any time, Mikoto rushed toward him, while feeding the flame in his hands into a large fire ball and threw it toward the second king. The Gold King thrust his folded fan forward, as if commanding the celestial planets that floated around him like his pawns. With a simple gesture, several planets gathered in front of the old Colonel and lined up into a shield. Sparks were everywhere as Mikoto's crimson flame collided with the impenetrable barrier, but eventually the fire burst out and ceased into black smoke before the half-charred wall made by extraterrestrial spheres.

When the wall finally disintegrated into moderate-sized globes and circled back around Daikaku and the smoke screen blocked his view, suddenly Mikoto delivered a surprise blow through the smoke, aiming for Daikaku's face. However, before his punch engulfed with swirling crimson Aura could connect even to the edge of Daikaku's kimono sleeves, the senior king had calmly used his fan to counter the punch and imbued it in golden color of his power to resist Mikoto's Aura.

The friction lasted for a while until Daikaku intentionally pulled back a little, causing Mikoto to lose a balance for second. The elder was about to strike from behind when the Red King seemed to losing his foot, but his countless experiences from battles made him realize in the last minute that the young king was actually feinting. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the grin at Mikoto's lips that he was just in time to jump back and keep the distance when the latter whirled around, half bending as he tried to land a blow using his left fist.

Mikoto clicked his annoyance for meeting no resistance at the end of his move, but he pulled back with a deep huff, trying to regain his stance. However, before he could recover from his previous move, the Gold King had already cast his magic to strike at Mikoto. The crimson-haired king barely protected himself with promptly-summoned fire storm before him that some of the celestial stars managed to get through his wall and graze Mikoto's cheek and his favorite black coat. The scrapes stung a bit, but they were nothing more than an insect bite for Mikoto. He wiped the blood trickling from the wound with the back of his hand, causing the red to smear his skin, but he paid no heed to it.

His golden eyes fixed back at the composed aged king. As he expected from the top-rated soldier with immeasurable practice to survive on battlefield first-handed, he could only dream on to defeat such a monster, hoping that his youth would at least give him an upper hand. However, Mikoto realized that his combat experience was probably something insignificant compared to the king standing in front of him, and even age did not seem to deteriorate Gold King's honed skill.

If the Gold King was completely serious in fighting him with pure intention to kill, Mikoto would have to draw all his power to defend himself. It was quite clear though that his raging lava could not break through Daikaku's shield. While the Colonel's attribute was supposed to be the first-rate offensive, he easily adapted to the field situation and utilized his Aura as shield effectively. Mikoto was able to summon fire wall to protect himself as well, but not as refined as the Gold King's. Nevertheless, even Gold Aura was nothing compared to Silver King's supreme defensive element. After all, what could defeat the immortal king, who was not liable to a scratch even with nuclear blast?

Daikaku snapped open his gold-colored fan and put it to mask the lower part of his face as he whispered quietly, barely audible for Mikoto across him. "Watch your Weismann level, Red King. I would like to avoid unnecessary casualty for this flimsy plan."

The latter only smirked as a reply, before he lunged forward, striking the Gold King upfront. "With this kind of play, you won't be able to convince anyone."

Daikaku swiftly countered his attack and snaked his arm under Mikoto's armpit. On the next second, Mikoto found himself flying on the air as the second king hurled him over his back, intending to toss him to the floor. He reflexively coiled and rolled in the air and managed to land safely on his feet once the Gold King had liberated him from his grip. Even without using Aura, the senior went easy on him. As much as it frustrated Mikoto, now it was not the time to let his emotion over his head.

"If he really comes here and you are gravely injured, this is all futile." Daikaku sighed as he straightened his kimono sleeves. "By now, he should have started coming to the top toward us."

"At least until he can evacuate everyone, be more serious. I can handle it." Mikoto scowled as he observed his torn jacket. Once everything was over, he would tell Kusanagi to buy him the new one.

"Do not overrate yourself, child." The Gold King glared at him. "I would never forgive you if your Sword of Damocles falls with my house as its epicenter."

Mikoto threw a deviant smirk and put his hands in his pockets. "It's time. Let's get on with this."

 

* * *

 

"Please excuse my intrusion." Isana walked into the security room graciously with a sweet smile, followed by the Black Dog and Neko.

Kusanagi's cigarette fell on the fall in surprise, but he quickly gained his composure. "Ah, yeah, I get the call from boss…Welcome, err…Silver King."

Isana stared around, looking at the present Red Clansmen and nodded approvingly. "As you may hear from your king, I would like to request for your assistance."

Anna quickly trotted away from Totsuka's side, passing through the Silver King and stood in front of Kuroh expectantly. The previous Ichigen vassal coughed with nervousness for being stared by the little strain, but Anna did not even falter with their staring contest. Isana looked back at his uncomfortable friend and laughed at him. "I think she asks you to let her see the Blue King."

"O-oh!" Kuroh stammered loudly before he carefully knelt before the red princess with Munakata, sleeping peacefully while being entirely covered in white blanket up to his chin like a cocoon in his embrace. He had volunteered to carry the Blue King and evacuate him along with the rest of personnel in the building, back in the medical wing. Munakata was originally taller than him that it would pose as a challenge to carry him; however his chivalry code would not allow him to ask the most respected king or a woman to take up the task. He was inwardly thankful that the Blue King had lost considerably weight because of his illness to make his job easier. Kuroh was about to hurl the patient over his shoulder, since it would be difficult for him to fight in case the Colorless King attempted to hurt Isana again if he had to give piggyback or bridal-style ride. However, Mikoto glared at the back of his head menacingly, as if he would burn Kuroh's hair if he really did it. Thus Isana suggested him to carry Munakata in his arms with an amused chuckle and he would use his Silver Aura if situation demanded him.

Even then, the Red King still scowled begrudgingly. Isana had to try his best not to laugh at such transparent jealousy that made Kuroh quite uneasy under Mikoto's fierce look.

Anna leaned forward while tiptoeing as high as she could to steal a peek at Munakata's face. She took a note of the steady, soft breathing, barely audible if she did not listen closely. Before long, she moved back and ran behind Totsuka again. Totsuka rested his hand on top of her head gently, calmly asked, "What do you think, Anna?"

The little princess glanced up to find the blonde's amber eyes, "There is a trace of the man we are searching for, but he has left." Totsuka nodded and petted her head a little to praise her effort.

"Now what are you suggesting, Silver King?" Kusanagi pulled out another cigarette and lighted it with his lighter.

Isana turned his head to face the bartender. "I need your cooperation to empty the whole building and keep away from here as far as possible for safety measure. We need to create a situation where there is no other vessel for the Colorless King to run when he is cornered. Other than Kings in their prime condition, I don't think you stand a chance to resist his possession." He craned his neck to glance at Kuroh through his shoulder. "I need you to stop HOMRA and Scepter 4 pointless brawl on the lobby. The Gold King had agreed to cooperate and the Gold Clansmen will also leave the premise. We will sweep the floors to evacuate the wounded. I would personally ask for Scepter 4's lieutenant to help us."

Kusanagi hurriedly objected, with a hint of protective of a certain blonde lieutenant. "I will help you. Let's not involve a woman in this."

"I will need you to come with us to verify your people who are defeated by Gold Clansmen and evacuate them, while I need the lieutenant to help us to arrange an efficient evacuation. I believe that they have much more elaborated communication and procedures. Every second is precious for your king." Isana calmly spoke like a motionless water in the lake, unwavering.

Kusanagi bit his cigarette and took a deep inhale of the poisonous nicotine. Before long, he took out his phone and typed the message in fast motion. In the next five seconds, there were holograms of sent messages and they vanished into thin air. Afterward, he walked toward Totsuka and tapped his hands on his shoulders. "Tatara, tell everyone to leave and take Anna with you. Everyone is probably too occupied that they might not notice the message."

"Well, I have to go down as well, to make sure that Blue King is safely returned to his men as I have promised your King." Isana shrugged. "Now, shall we proceed?"

 

* * *

 

The sound of the steel clashing against metal rang loudly. Fushimi pushed his sword against the red vanguard when the red-haired man used his bat to block the attack, equally in strength to resist against his opponent.

"What's your intention, Misaki?" Fushimi asked in hushed voice suspiciously. "First you called us here, now you stand in our way. Your actions contradict."

Misaki clenched his teeth, using all his strength to put them in locked position. It was such an irony that only in battle they would actually have a talk. "This is the only way to get you talk to me."

"What's left there to talk?" Fushimi sneered, almost too viciously that tore Misaki's feeling.

"What should I do to make us friends again?" Misaki asked solemnly as he stared with willpower in his eyes that startled Fushimi. The world was as twisted as Fushimi's mind that he believed in nothing but himself and power. No one had ever loved him, so he would love no one. At first, he considered Misaki as a companion to pass through the boring day at school. No feeling attached. He thought to himself that he would break the relationship if he sensed that they were going deeper.

However, Misaki's virtue mesmerized him. The other boy was completely his opposite that he was interested in knowing how such naïve boy could live in this harsh world. He got his eyes on Misaki, following his shadow to the point he did not realize that the red-haired boy had sneaked into his heart. They were too busy living in their own little world, isolated from others. Therefore, none of them comprehended that they both had each other completely exposed. But in their little golden cage, Fushimi would not mind being bare, because Misaki only had him as his entire world. Misaki would have no reason to hurt Fushimi since he would lose his reason to exist if he did that.

But inside the cage, suddenly another bird came in, stealing Misaki away from him. Fushimi was no longer the whole world for Misaki, and his friend would probably love the other, just like how the world had always been toward him. And he despised this one-way feeling. Fushimi took it as a weakness, that one day Misaki would use his love to destroy him and nonchalantly walk away to HOMRA, trampling on his feeling. That was why he decided that he would treat Misaki just like how he treated the world which had always betrayed him.

He left the cage entirely, while tearing a deep wound that would leave scar, to remind Misaki of his own betrayal toward Fushimi. While he should feel elated, being able to land the first hit between them, the raven-haired boy just felt cold and hollow. To deny his emptiness, he went for Scepter 4 who willingly accepted him. He assumed that since Scepter 4 and HOMRA had always against each other, there was no way HOMRA could steal his place anymore.

Nevertheless, he had built a tall fortress made of ice, making sure that this time no one would ever get close to his core. To his frustration, his colleagues kept trying in vain. But to his bitter resentment, his Captain had gained certain level of trust from him. Munakata was as soundless as a snake as he steadily threaded his way attentively to tear down his barrier; bashing when Fushimi lowered his guard and stalling when he was fully alert. He could perceive his youngest commander from simple gestures and it annoyed Fushimi when Munakata gave him a meaningful smile and always seemed to know what had been going on Fushimi's head. Before he could realize it, his Captain had stayed dormant in a small part of his world.

Despite all his effort and time, Munakata had only breached first layers of his barrier, nowhere close to how far Misaki had been. However, it seemed to Fushimi like his superior had no intention to go further as well at the risk of stirring up the storm, but simply watching at him from far like a normal father toward his child. For that reason, Fushimi was satisfied and allowed him to settle there.

Until the moment when his brilliant mind figured out that his superior was possibly infatuated with Suoh Mikoto the day after that incident.

He felt betrayed again and the old wound tore open. It was not as painful as it was when he was with Misaki, but the dull ache still reminded him. No matter where he was, Mikoto always took away his place. And if now, the current Misaki, who was still quite obsessed about Mikoto, asking him to be friends again, the vanguard might as well talk to a wall instead.

Fushimi answered with a bored look, "Nothing, Misaki." The third commander of Scepter 4 abruptly pulled back and kept the distance between them, while pointing his saber at HOMRA's vanguard. "How many times should I tell you until it gets into your thick skull?"

Misaki waved his metallic bat aside, still watching like a hawk at his target. "Then I will keep trying until you give up."

Fushimi's eyebrows creased as he frowned, "You are annoying."

"I miss you, you know." Misaki softly muttered, but the blow was too much for the raven-haired commander that his words left the latter stunned. "I don't understand why you leave me. You never told me why you didn't fit in. I'm sure somewhere along the line, I probably did something as well and I'm here to fix it."

Fushimi lowered his sword for a bit and fixed his eyeglasses with his left hand. "Don't be stupid. What is broken cannot be repaired."

"And I'll prove it to you that I can, if you give me a chance." Misaki took a step forward assertively while Fushimi instinctively walked backward. "Tell me where I should begin."

"Leave HOMRA."

A chill ran through Misaki's spine and he froze immediately. Before long, he could hear a scornful cackle across him. "See? You can't do it, Mi-sa-ki! After all, what can you do without your friends?"

He gritted his teeth as he fought the sharp stabbing pain in his chest. "If I do that, what will you do for me?" He lifted his hazel eyes to meet Fushimi's sapphire ones. "Would you leave Scepter 4 and stay? Would you be happy with just simply you and me, even though you know how miserable it would make me?" The chestnut-haired man sighed dejectedly. "If that's how it is, you just want to have power over someone, stupid monkey."

Fushimi glowered at him defensively. "I'm not the one who starts this topic. Take it or leave it, Misaki."

Misaki swung his baseball bat over his shoulder, grinning weakly. "I liked you, Saru. That's why I will drag you out from your depressing world."

"You will never learn, won't you?" The raven-haired commander sneered at him before he lunged forward to throw his knives at his ex-best friend. "Fine, give me your best shot, Misaki!"

 

* * *

 

Some of her golden strands were loosened from her bun as she whirled around and threw a blue straight slash like shooting arrow. The young man with white bangs down to his eyes barely scrambled out of the attack, as it managed to tear the edge of his pants. Without beating a lash, from the corner of her vision, there was another HOMRA's member assaulting her with baseball bat from her left that she quickly leaped pass through the youngster and landed a clean hit on the nape, causing the latter to fall unconscious to the floor.

As all of her men engaged with HOMRA and kept them busy, she looked around to observe about the situation. They had been trying to reach the elevator, but before they could make it pass through HOMRA's human barricade, one of them would always get in her way. Some of her men were knocked unconscious, as well as from the other side. She started to wonder why they had to resort to force, when they only wanted to take back their King to safety and made sure that no hell got unleashed between Gold and Red Clans.

As she studied the battle field, her azure eyes caught Fushimi being the farthest of their group, engaging the vanguard, Yatagarasu. From a glimpse, she had caught the impression that they got too busy talking instead of tearing each other's throat. However, if her commander could keep Yatagarasu occupied, it made her task easier since the short boy did not live up to his appearance. His strength, to her resentment, seemed to slightly surpass her, in contrary to his short build.

Seeing her chance with the path cleared out since now all the HOMRA members were too busy fighting Scepter 4, she started to slowly walk toward the elevator, wishing not distract any attention on her. They had been stalled for a long time, and every minute passing was worse than death for her, being worried sick for her Captain. Her mind was in a storm, muddled with her anxiety that she did not notice the whirring sound of the elevator as it went down. Just as soon as she lifted her hand to press the up button, there was a 'ding' sound and she stopped in her track in surprise.

Apparently the noise was loud enough to distract most of them. Both parties stopped in their engagement and all eyes were shifted to the opening door of the elevator.

"Ah, I hope no one gets killed…" Totsuka airily said, as he ushered Anna out of the elevator first. The strain princess  went across the gap and waited for the blond to follow her. Her ruby eyes blinked at the chaotic state. Her heart wrenched every single body she saw collapsing on the floor, especially when she could see her favorite crimson color around them. As much as the bloody stream seemed to be like beautiful roses, Anna did not like the moment when the most beautiful of all things; human soul, drifted away.

As if feeling guilty for what they had done once her eyes met them, all HOMRA members stopped in their tracks. Scepter 4 could not bring themselves to fight people who would not resist, thus they also stayed silent.

"I don't think there is fatal casualty among them." The white-haired young student climbed off the elevator and his whole body peculiarly sheathed in silver glow. He might look young and frail, but there was something like a static electricity as he spoke, like a charisma that you would not dare to look away or ignore his words. Seri shivered as she listened to the tranquil voice, as calm as the streaming water in the forest lake. Those amber eyes looked around, watching without judging and he beamed as his eyes met Seri's. "You must be Scepter 4's lieutenant. I would like to request your assistance."

Seri was stunned for a moment when the young student strode past her men toward her. That figure, she still remembered it as clear as the day, how it grinned wickedly as he tried to shoot her king and how revolting her feeling was that night when she witnessed her most-respected person to fall from the railings and sacrifice himself like a valiant knight. She snapped quickly in anger and pointed her saber just an inch away from Isana with a thick, dark voice. "Are you him? If yes, I will personally take your life right here by my own hands."

Neko shouted anxiously, "Shiro!"

Isana did not look deterred as he kept beaming at her peacefully as he rested his right hand just before his heart. "Forgive me for surprising you like this. Let me introduce myself. I am the first and only Silver King, Adolf K. Weismann."

Her aquamarine eyes widened in surprise but it did not take long before she glowered at him again, "How can I believe such nonsense? The Silver King has died on the accident when his plane crashed and the Gold King had confirmed it."

"It's true." Anna softly confirmed, interrupting their communication as she stood between them. "You have to believe him."

A flash of doubt was still there behind Seri's eyes, but her heart was swayed by the little princess. After all, she knew that Anna would never lie, even if Scepter 4 was her foe. She stared back at the composed student, trying to find any hint of malice behind that smiling mask, but she could find none. There was only plain compassion behind those amber glasses. She decided to take a bet and lowered her saber and sheathed her weapon before she gave a deep bow in front of Isana. "Forgive my rudeness, Silver King."

"First of all," Isana coughed timidly when he saw her sudden change in demeanor. "Please lift up your head. I don't deserve such respect." He grabbed for her hand as gently as he could and tugged her forward, while Kuroh stepped forward to them, cradling a figure completely huddled in pristine white cover. "First thing first, allow me to return your King as per request of Red King."

A chorus of gasp filled the room before all the Blue members, except for Fushimi who stared at the heartfelt event from distant solemnly, ran toward Kuroh and gathered just before him. However their attentions were not even spared on him. Seri put her hands before her lips, trying not to let her emotions taking over her control. Nevertheless, when her trembled hands pushed aside the cover from the wrapped up figure's face, she took a sharp inhale and her eyes glistened as she whispered, "Captain!"

The rest of Scepter 4's members sighed in relief as their eyes caught the look on their sleeping, pale king and spontaneously sheathed their sabers in their waists. They wanted to laugh at how they thought that they would not feel so relieved to see their King, considering how this man always tended to make them uncomfortable with his mischief and awkward communication. Nevertheless, it confirmed their feelings that despite all those discomfort, they had felt something similar to fate from their king, and that was why they allowed him to lead them like his pawns so willingly. And now that they could at last meet their King again, after so long being separated they could not ask for better reunion. The last time they saw him before the Gold King isolated him, their captain barely hung on the thin thread and his heart had stopped once as the doctors informed them.

Totsuka patted on Anna's head and beamed at the melancholic Blues, "Isn't it nice, Anna?" As an answer, he received a curt nod from the little girl in her gothic crimson dress, who watched at the group closely. She might not smile to prove her contentment, but the blond understood that the delight ambiance influenced her.

However, Seri quickly gathered herself, and brushed away her tears that threatened to fall. She straightened her back and made a salute gesture toward Isana. "We cannot thank you for your benevolence. Please do not hesitate to ask us for anything. If it is within our capability, we will assist you to our utmost ability."

The diamond-haired king chuckled in amusement, "It will be best if you can dispatch a medical team here to transport your King. I'm sure Kuroh will appreciate that." He sneaked a glance at Kuroh who was rolling his eyes for being taunted. However, he really would be glad for an immediate help to let him feel his hands again for carrying a taller man than him in his arms. Seri was flustered for a moment, embarrassed for not realizing because of her relief that she should have at least given that order at the first hand. She pulled out her phone and made a quick call.

When she moved away to give the chain of commands, Isana turned his head and gave a meaningful look at Totsuka, who quickly caught the implication. He took Anna's hand in his and pulled her to gather the HOMRA. "King tells us to leave this place for his plan. Kusanagi will fill you in with the details later on, but he will help Scepter 4 to evacuate everyone here."

Yata threw a glance at Fushimi, who caught it from the periphery of his eyes. The vanguard looked torn from leaving the latter or taking care of his friends from his distressed expression, but the raven-haired had understood his anxiety and made decision before him. He walked without even looking back at Yata to join his coworkers, to Yata's bitterness. Knowing that he had no other choice but to be once again separated from Fushimi, he also went on to go to where his friends had gathered.

 

* * *

 

" _Lieutenant, everything has been in order_."

Seri shifted her weight on her other leg as her focus was completely occupied by the phone call. "How is Captain?" Kusanagi was in the middle of typing his messages when he sneaked a glance back curiously at her to observe the pretty blonde as he leant against the nearby wall. Just as the Silver King had calculated, Scepter 4 was able to achieve efficient sweeping for the casualty and evacuation, more than what HOMRA could do. Within half an hour, they had finished sweeping and evacuating the unconscious and the wounded Clansmen. The only floor left was the top floor, reserved only for Gold King that was currently also occupied by Red King and possibly the Colorless King.

While HOMRA had stronger bond as family, but their chain of command was a different story because HOMRA members were not especially trained on a daily basis in handling the mass crisis and they were not as disciplined and methodical as Blue Clan. However, since the HOMRA was an organization with large number of members who highly valued their shared bond, they can straightforwardly assist the local police to guard the perimeter line along with a small unit from Scepter 4, so not to allow an intruder.

" _He has been evacuated to the general hospital and the special reservation has been arranged. Sir Fushimi has volunteered to guard Captain and they are currently on the way to the hospital. When they arrive, we will have a security team on standby and his room has been arranged for 24-hours surveillance. I hope it is sufficient._ " The male voice hastily reported and Seri could hear a lot of noise from the other side, probably the spectators from normal citizens, prattling and gossiping what could possibly be happening that required a hasty sterilization area. Even Japan ground SDF had been mobilized as well, probably under the authority of Gold King.

"How is the situation there?" Seri glanced at Kusanagi, who in return also stared at her, expecting her to help him sweeping the last floor as soon as possible. She curtly nodded and started to walk toward him.

" _The police force was having a hard time in handling the curious folks as they keep trying to get through the perimeter and take pictures randomly but the situation has been under control since HOMRA's arrival. They are sufficiently effective to chase away the citizens_." Akimoto laughed a little that in response, it also brought a faint smile to her lips. Knowing the HOMRA, they probably scared them off by acting like ruffians, nevertheless that brute method proved to be quite efficient. She finally said before she hung up the phone call, "Good work. Keep watching and report if anything comes up."

Just as soon as she finished her call, the Silver King in his youthful vessel stood before her and Kusanagi with a pleased smile. "Well, that's really quick work. The only thing left would be all of you to leave this place."

Kuroh abruptly declined the order, "That's foolish! You have taken me in as your Clansmen, take responsibility for it. I have finally vowed to serve you and only you, the first and Silver King. We do not wish to leave your side when you join in the fight."

Isana turned his head to face his vassal and reprimanded him for being overprotective, "This is a perilous plan. If you come with me, there is high risk that the Colorless King will possess you and run away again and this will be all for naught. Only the Kings shall remain in the battle among Kings." He took a deep sigh when he saw that his vassal still faltered, not willing to leave his side, and smiled widely, "Why don't you go back first? I'll return before you know it to eat your food again."

Kuroh lowered his head contemplatively when Neko kept staring back and forth between two males before she finally grabbed for Kuroh's arm and pulled him away from her master with little pout. "Shiro, you promise you will come back!"

The Silver King waved a little at them, beaming serenely. Behind his Clansmen, Seri made a polite bow before him and followed the cat strain. Kusanagi scratched the back of his head and took a deep breath as he spoke, "Our boss is often careless, but he is a good guy. Can I ask you to watch over him?"

"I assure you." Isana tilted his head a little with his usual smile, and Kusanagi nodded reluctantly at the unwavering amber eyes.

The Silver King stood silently as he listened to the faint sound of footsteps that gradually out of earshot as he was watching at the retreating backs pensively. The whole event today reminded him again what he once had lost. And what he fought for.

Once upon a time, when his dream of infinite happiness within Dresden Slate was trampled on like a wild flower, a fleeting reverie, he thought he would no longer believe in anything else. However, ever since he had met Kuroh and Neko and his fateful encounters with other kings and their clansmen, he had witnessed so much beautiful bonds flowering. Even in the lone thorny path of Kings, he could see the small lights flickering to illuminate those roads and this time he would not fail to make sure that none of them would lose the light or hope.

He took a deep inhale, listening to his palpating heartbeat as he anxiously expected the upcoming last battle as he huskily whispered under his breath in foreign language. "I have found my wish again. This time, we will obtain happiness we have sought, my dear sister."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit that I haven't watched K movie "The Missing Kings". First, because I heard the rumor that the movie is another tragedy and sad movie and I don't need any more angst for now or else it will kill me. Second, I live in a country where the anime always comes late and I don't exactly understand Japanese, so I'll wait for subtitle, lol. So this fic will be based on K anime, and it would be free of movie's influence. So if there are contradictions, I beg you not to provide some spoilers to me.
> 
> I'm truly sorry for the late update! Real life is so hectic, so…and for worse, the chapter is rather boring because I am still trying to weave the story as clear as possible before the last climax, hahaha~ Please bear with it. *throws confetti*


	10. End of the Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note: I’m sorry for taking so long! I have to admit that… I experienced writer block. Before this fic is even made, I’ve made the draft, but not the specific detail. And when the time comes to type it, I don’t have any idea how to make things that way without being forced. LOL. As if it’s not enough, I even get sick repetitively. *cowers in the corner* Sorry…I’m certain that an apology doesn’t worth much, but I hope you guys would understand. 
> 
> Extra note: Yeah, you owe me an update of your fic as you've promised, poisonandink. *wink wink* The next chapter of Hourglass will be on hold until we all can rejoice for a new chapter of your coffee shop fic~ Yeah, I'm blackmailing you this time. :D *evil*

“ _There's always going to be bad stuff out there. But here's the amazing thing -- light trumps darkness, every time. You stick a candle into the dark, but you can't stick the dark into the light_.” - Jodi Picoult

 

* * *

 

The flight of stair was eerie as the light dimmed inside the hallway. Each sides of the wall felt like closing in to him as he kept climbing each of the stairs with sadistic glee. The power of illusion to distort his sensory perception had vanished without a trace and he assumed that because the top floor was restricted for the Gold King and his Clansmen would make an exception of his chamber to be free of illusion.

As a member of Dresden Slate, he could faintly perceive the glimmer of Gold and Red Aura much further beyond the passage. Even from distant, the small radiance of those power enticed him to hastily make them his. His heartbeat raced as his anticipation peaked up that he almost could not think of anything else but the blissful moment when he succeed to steal the ultimate power of the Slate. He could not stop himself from feeling proud of what he had accomplished.

That night when his initial plan had failed due to a miscalculation of his part to disregard the possibility of the Blue King to thwart his perfect tactic, he felt immeasurable fury for his failure for not being able to even inflict direct damage to the owner of Blue Aura. He intended to be the sole and absolute king of this world, and yet his loss had trampled his pride. Nevertheless, he was now satisfied. His brilliant strategy did not only earn him a little taste of Blue Aura, he even got this opportunity to take what he had longed to seize; the scorching, vicious Red Aura. Certainly such offensive power would be more than happy in his hand to be useful to his magnificent plan to dominate the world. He could not bear the notion of the current Red King for oppressing such gift. He scorned Mikoto’s reluctance to wield the Red Aura to its maximum capacity and even perceived it as Mikoto’s weakness.

With tremendous amount of power and his own ability, he thought that it would be a child play to torment the Gold King and overthrow the old man from his throne as the shadow ruler of whole country. He only had to wait the right moment when the Gold King had weakened the Red King so he could lunge into the depth of Suoh Mikoto’s conscience to embezzle the Red Aura.

He immensely ridiculed the ruling kings as he could not understand the thought processes of the kings before him. They all possessed such power that they could take the world for their own benefit easily, like snatching a candy from a baby. Yet none of them flaunted their power to inflict fear in people’s souls. They even remained behind the stage, keeping watch of the country and their Clansmen like dormant caterpillar. The kings were by all accounts chosen men; the special being compared to the dull, ordinary people. Kings were supposed to be feared and respected, but none of them even showed their existence to the world unnecessarily. He could not stomach the idea of himself as a mighty king being put on the same pedestal of those ordinary weaklings and treated equally.

For that reason, he would bring downfall to the rest of the kings and once he stood as the supreme king, he would correct the world and make it to worship him, as how those people should treat the existence close to divine being.

“Now, who should be the appetizer?” He spread his arms like free wings with frenzied delight.

 

* * *

 

A drop of sweat trickled down to the mat, combined with several drops of scarlet blood, which matched quite well to Mikoto’s vermillion-painted firestorm. He panted slightly hard, although an infuriated grin was still plastered on his lips. Even though he was fighting a losing battle against the second king, the thrill of the fight and the adrenaline rush still made his blood boiling like an active volcano, waiting, longing for the moment to erupt and release all the rage and suppressed fury inside it until it burned everything into ashes, brought end to all lives. The voice of his mind was no longer audible as he regressed fighting with his instinct like he always did at the peak of his ecstasy of battle. The feeling was like an addiction to him, but tiny bits of him still chained him down to the conscience, trying to reason and hold him down from losing himself. Nevertheless, he was forced to acknowledge that he was barely hanging at the normal margin of utilizing the Red Aura without destroying himself. Mikoto began to wane for not only fighting the Gold King, but also against his own power from consuming him whole.

Daikaku stood tall before the Red King, seeming to understand the reason for a short suspend of their fight although he could not bring himself to admit that despite all of battle experience he had accumulated for years, fighting another king, no matter how young his opponent was, was still taxing. A sweat had rolled down from his forehead and his breathing had become ragged a little with the constant sparing between golden celestial sparks and the flame bursts.

 _‘Just how long should we continue this pretentious play?_ ’ Daikaku was troubled as the same line kept repeating inside his head. The Red King was at the brink of losing himself; he could sense it entirely, for he had seen many falls of the kings and their reaching end moments. He may not share any memories with the third king but a short banter, even after Mikoto was chosen by the red Sword of Damocles, but he always had a share of sentiment to the fellow kings for the burden they all had and he would always be anxious when one of the Swords showing the sign of cracking and crumbling.

He could not have figured out how long the time had passed since they tried to lure the Colorless King, but he was certain that the time spent should be more than enough for Weismann to finish his business and indirectly corner or lure the Colorless King to this floor. However, his unease grew with each moment without any indication of the Colorless to make his appearance soon. Prolonging the play was not an option either since it might blow up their whole plan. If Suoh Mikoto fortuitously met his ending here, not only he would lose his home or risk his Weismann level to prevent the calamity, Weismann would certainly blame himself for not being able to save the young king and Daikaku had enough of witnessing as despair looming over his friend’s soft features.

“Red King, stop this instant. You are at your limit.” The elder casted down his gaze with faint hint of worry lacing his voice. However, his statement only fueled Mikoto’s fortitude as he straightened himself into battle stance again.

“No, I will bring the end today.” Mikoto stared into the depth of Daikaku’s eyes and the elder could only sigh resignedly. It did not take him to be wise to figure out the reason behind Mikoto’s willpower that almost seemed like suicidal attempt with all carelessness aspect. He had turned a blind eye on the fiery king’s occasionally intimate moment with the unconscious Blue King during his visits to medical wing in his residence, but it did not mean he would deny their relationship. He could feel the desperation of Mikoto to end this chaos quickly to ensure the safety of his people and his possibly lover and Daikaku decided that he was absolutely not going to be the one of crumpling that determination arising from the will to protect.

“Then get yourself together, Suoh Mikoto, and show me the weight of your resolution.”

Mikoto refocused until he could feel the jittery flicker of his flame, dancing madly inside his soul as it waited for moment to burst into inferno. When the Red Aura answered his call just in a blink of eye, the fire swirled around him like a massive concave mirror in front of him and advanced forward to the elder king. He understood that using brute force would lead him to nowhere, let alone victory, but Mikoto was still in disadvantage in bare-handed fight and the Gold King would always put up his defense wall whenever he attempted to get close. Apparently fighting from distance was on Daikaku’s favor more than him.

Before his crimson wall could even get closer to the Gold King, the celestial planets were constructed against the red and forged into beyond comparable shield. The friction between walls left the burnt smell and a wisp of black smoke, and after a while, the ruby-colored shield started to falter and got pushed backward toward its owner. Mikoto groaned as he pushed his power, while trying not to listen the faint sound of cracking of his Sword of Damocles from distant above.

Daikoku abruptly increased the output of his power to the maximum to rip apart Mikoto’s shield by force. The Red King was unable to anticipate the sudden and brutal assault that he only managed to call forth his Aura to surround him and cushion his body as the abrupt attack from the gold shield hurled him forcefully and knocked him to the entrance door of Gold King’s private chamber. The sliding door clattered and crumbled under his weight and the entrance was wide open, connected to the hollow hallway. Although he had somehow managed to reduce the damage with the involuntary activation of his Aura, the hit on his back was still painful and Mikoto coughed and wheezed slightly with the stabbing pain on his chest as he tried to breathe or move. His ears were ringing loudly and the sense of his balance was pandemonium. His head felt murky and dizzy for slamming the back of his head against the door because of the impact that he swallowed hard, forcing himself from soiling the ground of Daikaku with his vomit.

Mikoto wobbled and leant his back on the nearby wall and collapsed against it. Daikaku watched impassively as the opponent in front of him slouched with pale complexion as he called back the celestial stars floating around him. The Gold King stepped forward carefully toward the fallen king as he folded his arms inside his kimono sleeves. “Will you give up?”

Mikoto barely caught the word or even answered the Gold King when suddenly his instinct sensed the immediate threat nearby from the other direction and as expected, the rabbit guard lunged toward him without warning from the dark corridor, screaming like a madman with a knife on his hand. “You’re mine!” The golden-eyed king was bewildered as he managed to turn his head to the side and witnessed the approaching assailant; he was caught on his vulnerable moment that he barely managed to lift his hand without fainting with the sudden strike of dizziness. Mikoto would not be able to defend himself appropriately against the possession if the Colorless King decided to invade his core at this moment, let alone from the sharp object on the guard’s tight grip.

Nevertheless, it was not in his plan to be eaten by the Colorless King. If he had to surrender his life, obviously his soul would not rest in peace if he had to die at the hand of his arch enemy. He had chosen his harbinger since long time ago and he did not intend to break that decision. The Red King was about to get back on his feet slowly, gritting his teeth as he withstood with the excruciating pain, the surging waves of vertigo and the deafening sound in his ears, but he would not make it in time to protect himself from the swift attack from the youngest king.

“Just give it up! In exchange, I will get even for your loss!” The Colorless King cackled in a shrill sound that worsened Mikoto’s ringing ears. His vision was blurry and Mikoto swayed weakly against the wall, unable to focus his sight to anticipate the attack in time. He could see the glinting knife was thrust toward him, aiming for his chest, but his flight response was in disarray because of the damage he had received from the Gold King previously. Mikoto braced himself for another pain, already assuming that the Colorless King would probably not be reckless enough to land a lethal blow so to take over his aura. However, before he could even close his eyes, waiting for the predicament to pass, several beautiful color of golden celestial spheres had stood before him, guarding him just in time against the Colorless King.

The rabbit guard whirled around to face the grim-faced second king with a snarl and seethed as he slammed the wall basked in golden light separating him from the weakened Mikoto, “Don’t bother me, old man!”

Daikaku continued to walk without sound as he stepped on the straw mat toward the young kings. His face was darkened and his eyes glared without mercy as cold as he was in the battlefield that inflicted fear to many of his enemies. “It should be my line. Who are you to trespass my property?”

Mikoto exhaled rather loudly with closed eyes, trying to recover what he could get in short time while adjusting with the pain inflicted by the white-haired old king behind the wall. He had no intention to play the role of damsel in distress that needed rescue. In fact, with the presence of Colorless King here, it would mean that their plan had advanced to the next phase. When the pain had ceased down and the sound in his ears had only left a trace of its presence, Mikoto began to push himself against the wall and stood steadily as he loudly commanded, “Lift this barrier.”

“Don’t be a fool. What can you do in your condition?”

“He is mine.”

The Colorless King took a step back, already assessing the situation in his mind. He quickly understood that he had been lured and deceived and he was probably a little bit too late to return back. He was a minute too late to realize that the Red King and Gold King were on the same team, to the extent that they would battle each other to draw him in here under false pretense. His mad grin faltered for a bit, and a sweat started to roll down from his forehead. He once again fell into such unpredictable situation and this time, he would have no time to lament but hope for another miracle.

The rabbit guard clicked his tongue in annoyance and abruptly whirled around to the other direction from Gold King’s chamber to take flight. The situation was not in his favor and he could not afford to get himself trapped between kings that he had no choice but to delay his arrangement to consume the other auras. However, his movement halted immediately once his eyes landed on a certain poised, white-haired student basked in silver light several meters across him standing still with clasped hands on his back and conflicted brown eyes.

“Would you please stop?” A loud, yet clear voice like the sound of spring breeze drowned the silence.

Isana startled the rest of the kings with a pair of amber orbs reflecting significant clarity of his naïve soul, but the rabbit guard immediately collected himself and laughed that sounded more like a bark of a mad dog. “I see that you are quite stupid! You have lost and yet you still dare to show your face in front of me?”

Isana watched at the young king in front of him impassively, feeling wary of such deceitful nature without a shred of tact. This kind of children was beyond saving as he already got addicted to the taste of devastation. He clenched his fist, “I cannot allow anymore mischief, especially if you are to abuse the power of Slate.”

The Colorless King gritted his teeth with transparent aggravation, “Don’t dictate me. Why don’t you just stand back and be quiet just like a proper elder?”

“Your power given by Slate is not for you to use, but for the good of many people.”

“Shut up!” The young king snapped, already losing his composure. “Because you are all like that, acting like cowards, afraid to take the throne as the almighty existence, the Slate chooses me to fix this mistake! Only I should be glorified for being the chosen!”

“You’re wrong.” Isana averted his gaze to the side, gripping his painful chest tightly. How could such a king with distorted mind be chosen by the Slate? He thought the Dresden Slate existed solely for making a better future of the world, but apparently he was mistaken. The Slate itself did not have any thought of world peace on its own. It was like a magic device, it indiscriminately bestowed special ability to the compatible users, without even evaluating the good will of the owner. However, he was responsibility for ever digging out the plate with ancient inscribed patterns and allowing the whole situation to take place. He would no longer turn his eyes away from the evil that was facilitated by his negligence. “If you abuse your Aura, it will become your downfall.”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” The Colorless King screamed with muddled mind. “I’ll take over your body first then!” With that, the fox spirit expanded his monochrome field with isolated dimension and Isana instinctively stepped away from the fox as if he was attempting to escape the possession with his amber eyes wide open; as if waiting for the inevitable to come. Inside black and white space world, he could see the fox grinning widely while screaming ‘Mine!’

But when the fox were just plunging his soul into the Silver King, he realized it a little too late as Isana smiled weakly and whispered as he put his clenched hands on his palpitating chest. “Now you cannot run away anymore.”

“Wha- Damn you, Weismann!”

The Silver King hastily swallowed the fox spirit into him, already feeling the sickening sensation as for having a foreign existence in his vessel. His heart ran wild; his mind was overwhelmed with the wicked, poisonous subsistence while the memories of Colorless King kept splashing into him like constant sea waves as he was trying to contain the writhing soul to imprison it.

Weismann gritted his teeth and when the mental exhaustion became too much to bear, his legs buckled and he fell on the wooden floor with ragged pant. From the periphery of his vision, he could see his best friend ran toward him in rush and Mikoto had knelt next to him with a hidden hint of anxiety behind those golden eyes.

“Weismann!” Daikaku unconsciously raised his voice, nearly shouting with transparent worry was apparent on his wrinkled face. “This is so careless. Can you handle this?”

The Silver King felt like answering the latter with consoling smile to wipe away that anxiety, but even for doing so, he had to muster all energy of his fibers. “I’m fine. It’s just…Apparently I’ve underestimated him. Even if he is young, he is still a king.” With the last sentence, he forced an exhale, since even breathing started to be a difficult task for him. He pounded his chest lightly, as if trying to cease down the pitiful shriek of certain teenager inside him. How he wished to knock the other existence out to give him some peace even for a fleeting minute.

Mikoto remained still, instinctively watching in silence. Even though the Silver King told him that the Silver Aura would never allow any external factor to harm him, and thus theoretically speaking, the only king that Colorless King would not be able to touch would be this seemed-to-be frail student, the extent of Colorless Aura was still unknown. He could not lower his guard until their goal was accomplished. The moment that Weismann seemed to fail to contain the evil, he would not hesitate to strike down the man, even if it meant his own demise. He had told his intention before, and the Gold King seemed to half-heartedly agreed to his terms. If the worst was to occur, they could only hope that the Silver Aura would also grant him immortality against other King’s power, just like how it expelled Colorless ability.

“Now, what do we do?” Isana coughed slightly, fostering a smile on his face as he lifted his head to face the other kings. “Should we try to move him to my dead vessel? I really hope that we won’t have to be a murder and kill one of your Clansmen, Lieutenant.”

The Gold King lowered his gaze with the darkness draped on his conflicting eyes, “Sometimes, one small sacrifice should be done for the good of many,” said the second king in low voice, already feeling wretched at the thought of sending his faithful guard to oblivion. But his resolve would not waver, and so was his Clansmen, he believed. If he had to soil his hand with blood once again for the peace of his beloved country, he would not hesitate. He rose to stand and extend his hand to his old friend, “Let’s go, Weismann. The situation would do us no good if delay our plan any further.”

The Silver King winced as he extended his hand to take the offered wrinkled, but firm hand as the pain kept pricking inside his chest. The fox spirit was still in rampage and their souls were clashing and countering in the isolated domain within this mortal vessel. The young king gnawed at him, ripping him apart from within as it tried to get free if not trying to gain over the Silver Aura which constantly rejected him. Isana wondered if the Colorless King was simply being desperate or the fox was waging a losing war against Silver Aura. However, they had advanced this far, and he was not on his own in this fight, thus he gritted his teeth and bore the weight of his sin, even if he had to drag his feet or crawl as long as their plans could succeed. Any of it.

While his best friend led the path almost in rush in front of him, Mikoto was watching him intensely from behind like a watch dog, completely wary of him as he contained the twisted fox spirit. The situation was too grim and yet he could not stop himself from not letting out a soft laugh that came out like a sardonic snort. He had never imagined that his life would turn upside down like this, and the last time he turned his back on the lieutenant, Isana thought that living in solitude would spare him from committing another heart ache, but alas the fate told him otherwise. But living with Kuroh for a brief moment brought him hope. There was a future that he would like to see. He would willingly spill the last drop of his blood to get those precious moments again.

“If he takes over, I will immediately destroy you.”

Isana turned his head slowly with his tired smile, expecting an intimidating growl from the Red King, but Mikoto surprised him. There was a phantom of understanding inside those shining golden orbs, offering comfort despite the warning and Isana decided that he could not ask for better assurance than this king with crimson-colored mane for their plan. So he finally said after a minute struggling for air and energy to formulate his words, “Yeah, I will be in your hands.”

Mikoto slightly staggered on his feet as he carried the unconscious rabbit guard with his arm slung across Mikoto’s shoulders for support while clenching his chest which still throbbed with every twitch of his fibers as he followed the first kings. He might have broken one or two ribs during his battle with the Gold King, but the pain kept him alert and it was still tolerable, so he attempted to pay no heed toward the sensation.

“We are here.”

Daikaku glanced at his companions with a frown before he pushed the sliding door in front of him. The next room was vast and casted in darkness as there was only a ray of light in the middle of room, illuminating a solitary cold coffin. The oldest king stepped aside, allowing his friend to take the first step inside. As if in awe, Isana forgot his suffering for a brief moment, not realizing how his feet had carried him. When he had reached the casket, he supported his weight with his hands on the glass cover of the coffin. The resting figure inside was still in his fair youth with waist-length silver strands and shut eyelids. It felt weird to see his own body from third-party point of view. In a sense, it made him wonder if this would be how it felt the soul got drifted from its body.

In an instant, the other soul inside him thumped so loud in his chest that Isana coughed in pain as he tried to hold back the resisting Colorless King. Daikaku hurriedly came to his side when he fell on top of the coffin with ragged breathing and constricted chest. His heart felt heavy and there were earsplitting screams in his mind, as if there was a crowd in his head. Each of them was nothing more than gibberish noise without distinctive personality and the Colorless King’s voice inside him was more like a broken radio. At that second, he understood that these voices were all the existences that the fox had absorbed and now they were reduced into figment ghosts of past. The current Colorless King was only a pile of random souls, leaving only evilness at its core.

When a minute had passed, the white-haired king could finally breathe in relief as the twinge slowly died down; possibly because the Colorless King had exhausted himself trying to break free from his bind. Only then, he finally realized that Daikaku had kept calling for his name and suddenly it felt like how they were before the end of the war. And despite the circumstance, such thought brought smile to his lips and he chuckled softly.

“…Why are you laughing at his moment?” Daikaku raised an eyebrow and stared skeptically at his friend who was gradually regaining his control.

“It’s just…your expression is priceless, lieutenant. No matter how you have aged, you don’t really change, have you?”

Daikaku used his fan to gently hit on top of Isana’s head, chiding him. “Be serious, Weismann.”

“You’re too serious, lieutenant.” The Silver King pouted a little as he rubbed where he had been hit.

“Oi.”

The sudden interruption snapped both of the first kings out of their little banter and turned their attention to the sole Red King. Though he felt weak and his muscles protested whenever he moved, Isana tilted his head and smiled compulsorily. “Ah, forgive me, Red King. I see that you have bound the poor guard properly.”

Mikoto threw a glance at the unconscious Gold Clansman without his mask, completely tied and covered eyes, abandoned next to his feet. “Took all of his weapons too.”

“It saddens me to say this, but I think it will be better if you temporarily revoke his status as a Clansman too, lieutenant. In worst case, the Colorless King may take advantage of that power.”

The Gold King hesitated for a minute under demanding stares from Isana and Mikoto. “…Fine.”

He swept his hakama and knelt next to his rabbit guard and touched his forehead quietly. The next thing they knew, the whole room was engulfed by blinding golden light that Mikoto instinctively shielded his eyes with his arms.

The light died as quick as it came, but Mikoto had to blink several times to adjust his vision back to the dimmed chamber. Isana was affected as well that he narrowed his eyes, hoping that such attempt could help with his sight sooner. He grumbled half-heartedly, “Lieutenant, next time a warning could help. Why your power is so flashy?”

Daikaku snorted at the snarky comment, saying nothing in return as he stood back and folded his hands inside the sleeves of his kimono.

Isana exhaled as he began to feel the palpitating throb again that his feature started to turn pale again. Mikoto quickly caught the hint and he slid his hands inside his jeans pockets. “You should release him now.”

The Silver King answered with a defiant smirk, “Well, I just wonder if I can contain him for longer to punish him.”

Mikoto clicked his tongue and frowned, “Stop playing around. I’m tired of waiting to annihilate him.”

“Suoh Mikoto, refrain yourself. You swore not to break your Sword of Damocles in my residence. As a matter of fact, I’m sending you the bill for the destruction you have caused to my front gate.”

“I promised to try.” Mikoto corrected with a pointed look against the hazelnut eyes, while ignoring his responsibility regarding the damage he had previously done.

“Now, now…I’m releasing him, okay? Can we focus now?” A sweat formed on Isana’s forehead and his face started to be contorted in pain.

Mikoto begrudgingly nodded. He realized that there was similarity in the ambience surrounding Isana and Totsuka that he found himself agreeing to Isana quite easily. They were air-headed, benevolent but dreadfully perceptive.

There was no better word to express his relief as he unleashed the foreign spirit inside him that kept getting expelled by Silver Aura. Once the rejection reaction was no longer within his vessel, his body felt light although the exhaustion remained. His legs buckled and Isana abruptly sat on the top of the coffin, trying to regain his stamina. The fox spirit sprinted toward his previous vessel, to Gold King’s disappointment, but Mikoto wasted no time but to keep the possessed guard still under his foot.

The sole Gold Clansman remained still, and Mikoto held his breath.

“As we fear, he returns to the previous body, instead to my old one.” Isana panted, swaying slightly as he rose from glass casket.

“There is only one thing left to do.” The edge of Mikoto’s lips twitched upward, as his golden eyes sparkled with unlimited vigor at the unconscious rabbit guard. The tongue of flame began to swirl around him; starved to lick and burn. But Isana swiftly grabbed for Mikoto’s arm, as if to snap him out of his reverie. The flame ceased down immediately from where Isana had touched him and no burn wound was inflicted on his skin. “I would like to avoid unnecessary death as much as possible.”

“I agree with Red King, Weismann. This is futile. He has no ability to possess a corpse.” Daikaku lowered his head as gloom fell on his eyes. “The moment your soul left for this young vessel, your old one is no longer immortal. Even the best medical employees have confirmed the death. I would like to avoid the casualty from my side, but sometimes a sacrifice is necessary.”

Suddenly the guard tensed under Mikoto’s foot and began to resist the bind angrily like a wild animal with furious snarls, shouting gibberish like, “I’ll kill you all!” But Mikoto mercilessly stepped on the back of the man with more force than necessary with a glint of rage in his golden orbs. The possessed guard coughed and wheezed pitifully that Daikaku steeled himself from feeling sympathy to his unfortunate subordinate. “If you pity him, I believe that we have to finish him quick that he would not even feel pain.”

“Would you be able to land the final blow to your own people, lieutenant?”

Daikaku lifted his gaze and stared straight at his friend, searching for condemn for his judgment. But inside the amber eyes, there was nothing of sort but compassion and it broke his heart more. He wished someone would punish him for his cold-heart decision, but none of the kings compelled him. He breathed out as he whispered his answer, “Yes.” Both Isana and Mikoto then stayed silent, giving a short moment of farewell for the elder king.

In the next moment, there were a blinding light in myriad color of gold, silver and vermillion and explosion from the top of Gold King’s palace that the shards of glass rained from above and one of the Sword of Damocles above the building shattered into dust.

 

* * *

 

Anna stared at the bright noon sky darkened from her favorite color into cloudy ashy one. Inside her pocket, her hand trembled as it traced slightly cracked ruby marbles. A gust of winter breeze blew passed through her, blowing her silver strands and skirt gently and the cold air felt like freezing ice on her skin. The snow storm seemed to be closing in, and yet the tempest in her heart had quelled down. Although she could perceive that her beloved King was almost at his critical point, but the tragedy had passed them by.

The young strain finally sighed in relief before her crimson eyes searched for a certain blond. When she spotted Totsuka, she ran toward him and hugged his waist from behind.

“What’s wrong, Anna?” Totsuka seemed to surprise by the sudden clasp, but he smiled gently as he saw HOMRA’s little princess’s head. However, he was completely mortified when Anna lifted her head, after answering him with a little shake of her petite face. She was smiling like a pure divine cherub; the rarest smile that he wished he had his camera with him to capture that expression and make it eternal.

“It’s finally over.” She whispered quietly as she buried her face to his lower back.

As if he could read her mind, Totsuka beamed at her, resting his hand on the crown of her head and letting the comfortable silence to fall between them for a moment as they shared the warmth.

After a while, the rest of members had begun to walk back to their safe haven. He patted her head gently, as if alerting her that it was time for them to go home. “Let’s go, Anna. The air has turned cold.”

She replied with a little nod and took his offered hand to grab and they walked side by side in silence. Just as soon as they began to stroll, the first snow dropped on top of her head, as if telling her that the winter had just arrived. As Anna rose her head, the sky hovering on top of her head were draped in the gray-colored veil and tiny white flakes leisurely poured down, piling and blanketing the ground with pure, white color.

 

* * *

 

His sapphire eyes stared blankly at the outside of the glass window, watching at the first snow of the year. He finally realized the reason why the air had turned cold, although the chill did not really inconvenience him. He ran his fingers through his coal-colored hair and exhaled exhaustedly as he turned his head toward a certain cobalt-haired king on the bed next to his chair.

The monitor attached to his king beeped in annoying sound, but he had slowly adjusted and tuned it out. Fushimi focused his attention between his paperwork and the soft, wispy sound of breathing coming from beside him. At some point, the tranquility that dawned in the white chamber with overwhelming smell of antiseptic was unbearable.

For weeks, Scepter 4 was not able to visit Munakata, under the order of Gold King. Not that he would intentionally go on his own will anyway, but his coworkers would probably drag him on the way if they were granted such privilege. During that period, all he could remember was the infuriatingly relaxed Captain engaging him with useless chatter and casual smile as he went to his superior’s office to report in. He remembered his grace as his captain elegantly took the tea cup and brought it to his lips, deliberately ignoring a plate of a heap of red bean paste in front of him. While the memory should bring him frustration like usual because it always got on his nerves whenever he saw his superior taking it easy after dumping all the administrative works on him, right now he only felt weary. He would blame the dim ambience on the murky weather. Nevertheless, now that he was left alone keeping watch on his king in the isolated medical room, Fushimi begrudgingly cursed himself for missing that bothersome captain instead of this dying vessel.

“The winter has come and you are still sleeping. I think there is a reasonable amount of time for you to take a break.” Fushimi started to talk without leaving his gaze from the sole patient with his pale, ashen skin, knowing that there was no one to answer his remark. “If you haven’t taken in incompetent fools who could not write their own reports properly, I would not be this busy. Don’t you think that you should take responsibility for that?”

The only response he got was the deafening machine noise. He clicked his tongue, irritated, and continued to stare hard at the falling flakes as they piled up by the misty windowsill.

 

* * *

 

“I thought I was going to die.” A cough was abruptly heard.

“Weismann, you’re exaggerating.”

The Silver King was sprawled with his back on the half-burned floor that the dust was collected on his pale-colored hair, streaking it into gray. “But I’m serious. I even wonder if any of you actually tries to hold back your power. I barely manage to stabilize it.” Without even looking, Mikoto could hear him pouting, but somehow the image did not suit him as the first and immortal king.

Mikoto quietly smirked as he watched at the crumbling rooftop above them while lying on the floor next to the white-haired student. The wintry air crept in through the hole and the snowflakes fell through above them. The peace suddenly sunk in that he almost could not believe if everything was over. The rush of adrenaline had died down, leaving him bare with hollow numbness. So much had happened for the whole day and in fact, he did not see this coming when he first arrived to this building.

Despite the calm he experienced, he also sensed the lingering feeling of remorseful from the Gold King. Mikoto could not blame him, and could only remain silent. One of his Clansmen had died valiantly although he did not volunteer for it and the palace that the Gold King had taken pride in was reduced to rubble. As if sharing the same sentiment, the gloom fell on Isana’s face and his half smile faltered into guilty one.

“Lieutenant, I’m sorry…”

“Don’t, Weismann.” The elder promptly interrupted him, “It’s my responsibility.”

Mikoto pushed himself from the floor and sat down, facing the first kings with fiery stare, “No, it’s ours.”

Isana watched the solemn Red King for a while in awe, before a small smile crept back to his lips as he closed his eyes, drowning himself to the stirring chill of the first winter. “Yes, I agree.”

The wrinkle on his forehead creased as he frowned, but Daikaku did not argue back. He simply stared to the far hazy horizon through the shattered window with gleaming hazelnut eyes. For a while, none of them removed themselves from the spot, as if holding a grieving ritual.

 

* * *

 

The world was basked in colorless radiance.

He felt like standing in the midst of snowstorm, unable to decipher what was lying on the horizon obscured pure white fog. He was not even certain if he had a certain goal in his mind as his mind was as blank as paper sheet. Time seemed to pass him by but he barely registered it as he felt bottomless sense of void. The surroundings were painted only in white; without any stain of other color.

Then suddenly a chime of summer wind bell rang faintly, whispering the name that he could not really remember. He turned his head slowly, watching in daze, without purpose. When he unconsciously attempted to step forward and extended his hand to reach out to the invisible sound, he began to notice the steel bars that stood before him and coldly stopped him from venturing further to the white field. It was that moment when he looked around and realized that the whole bars were to form a giant birdcage without exit door and he was somehow imprisoned inside it.

He traced the chilliness of the bars with the tips of his fingers and slightly flinched as the coldness seeping into him through his skin.

“ _Munakata_.”

He snapped his head out of his trance, when the murmur of a name felt so close. The voice was so familiar that it ached _._ Before his mind could register the owner of that tone, his lips had uttered the name that felt somehow foreign to his memories, and yet intimate to his lips. “Suoh…”

His head was foggy; he could not even remember who he was, let alone the person that he had just said his name. But the longing could no longer be constrained. Just like the echoes got louder and closer, the desperation started to dwell inside him that he tried to extend his arm as far as he could into infinite dimension, wishing to see the other side beyond the cage but he could not even be able to slip through the space between the bars but his arm.

“I have to go…” Munakata repeated like enchanting the spells, feeling crushed when unidentified anxiety settled in. The chain, with the other end connected to the marble table in the center of the cage, clinked around his ankles as he persistently pulled on it, trying to make it as far as he could, but he still could not wander outside the sanctuary. His mind screamed as his continued with his futile effort.

However, out of the blue the shackle shattered and it broke into pile of dusts and the birdcage slowly faded away, to his surprise. When he looked around in wonder, the small hourglass that was solely placed on the table near him had completely stopped the flow of sand. It lied still, motionless. Somehow he understood that the time was up, although he could not recall what the time was for.

He whirled around and started running to the unknown horizon with a single mind in his head as his compass.

 

* * *

 

When his eyes fluttered open and the color of black filled his vision, he wondered if he was still drifting in that isolated world but just in another place. However, there was so much sensation surged inside him that he had never felt inside that empty space; relief, exhaustion, and mostly confusion. Moreover, the air that lingered in his room felt terribly biting and cold against his skin, even though he could feel the weight of his blanket enveloping him. It failed to offer much warmth for him. For a reason, he vaguely recalled the comfortable heat and the striking red color it came with, but he could not remember what precisely the source of his comfort was. All he felt was the longing for that heat as he instinctively shuddered with the cold temperature this room had offered.

The light inside the room was turned off and there was no moon light even breaking into the chamber. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Munakata turned his head toward the window, although even such small gesture drained him out. His body felt unpleasantly heavy and his muscles screamed even with a slight tense of his fibers. He exhaled exhaustedly once he managed to steal a look at the outside through the glass window, veiled by transparent curtains.

The world outside was in diverse contrast of gray, but it was still beautiful with the stark of white slowly, soundlessly fluttered down from the sky. The beautiful view of silence and remoteness mesmerized him that he spent time watching, admiring the weather. The trees outside his window had withered, dying under the piling snow, hibernating waiting for the spring season to arrive. However, as he gazed at the leisurely falling snowflakes, the moment felt like eternal and the winter seemed to never depart.

He could not remember how many hours it had passed; it could be a minute, or it could be more than an hour, he had lost the count of the time without a clock indicating it. He tried to catch any sign of life other than him around, but there was only stillness. Not even a faint whisper or howl of the wind could be heard from this isolated compartment. Thus when there was a faint light of daybreak at the periphery of his windowsill, Munakata lightly anticipated if a new color will join in and give a new palette of magnificent view before his eyes, giving him a sign that he was indeed no longer in solitary, frozen time.

It surprised him when a ray of light came inside the room from the opposite side of the window after a creaking sound of the door opened filled his ears. Inside his dark room, the sudden light was blinding and hurting his eyes that he impulsively squinted while turning his head toward the door direction. However, before he could even figure out the intruder, the earsplitting sound of clattering tray and shattering glass and a small gasp jolted him that he marveled how the prolonged silence could sensitize to his auditory sense to small sounds.

Nevertheless, when his vision could finally adjust with the light coming through from the hallway across his room, there was no longer a person standing there. Munakata tilted his head slightly, questioning what he had envisioned before. However, from distance, he could hear the incoming noisy sound of multiple hurried steps drumming on the corridor. If his throat was not that dry and he did not feel this tired, he would have reprimanded them to keep it quiet in annoyance to abrupt commotion.

He barely had time to register what had happened; suddenly a group of people wearing white coats and uniforms barged in and fussed over him, talking to him, questioning him. The noise irritated him, but the torrent of exhaustion started to flood in again and his eyelids felt heavy that he decided to tune them out and once again flung into the world of paper white and hushed sound.


	11. Complication and Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one's self, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance." ― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that I break my promise to update sooner. But real life is as busy as hell, I barely have time to sleep or do anything else. Writing fic is the only thing I do during free time recently, so I hope you will at least forgive me…unless someone would do something with my real life piling, endless assignments, I think the next chapter will be delayed as well…sob…
> 
> A slight hint of Mikoto/Totsuka and Fushimi/Munakata if you really squint. For Fushimi/Munakata, please blame AkiFushi from ffnet for giving me ideas, lol lol. To avoid confusion, let me explain that this chapter takes place before the end of last chapter. I rewind it a little bit to have better understanding of the timeline.

"In summary, there is no clear explanation for his unconscious state." The doctor pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose with his finger. "From the medical record, there is a history of brain concussion because of the fall, and multiple fractures. However, we found that the bleeding does not suppress the brain part responsible for arousal and the amount is insignificant to cause extensive ischemic damage to the brain. We initially assumed that the coma was the simply temporary result of neuron injury that occurred during head trauma. However, in most cases, the patient would have woken up less than a month. Emphasizing the discrepancy between examinations without significant pathologic finding and his prolonged comatose state, theoretically speaking they did not match up."

Daikaku gave a little nod of understanding as his best medical team fell into a brief silence, allowing the Gold King to take in the information. "Go on."

"Thus, we are still hoping for him to regain his consciousness, but we still have to consider that he has been in coma for almost a year into account. The prognosis tends to decline with the longer comatose period."

"So we can only wait for him to wake up for now, is that what you've implied?"

The head of medical staff was silent with grim look casted on his face before he breathed out, "Yes." The appointed doctor then continued on, as if telling them that the worst part was still not revealed. "However, there are also complications following prolonged bed rest, such as muscle weakness and infections, like pneumonia. We have given our best to prevent these, by collaborating with rehabilitation and nursing team, but we still have to inform you these in advance. He had several episodes of the infections, though all of them were successfully treated by administering antibiotics."

"Is there no other way to speed up his recovery?" Suddenly a solemn, baritone voice joined in the discussion. Daikaku glanced back at Mikoto who sat just behind him, listening in silence until a moment ago. At first, he preferred to keep the medical information regarding Blue King, who was currently under his close supervision, confidential. However, the Red King persisted, even resorted to threatening him to get a seat in this conference room. As usual, Weismann gave his support to the Red King (Daikaku had his suspicion that his friend was too supportive of secret relationship between these young kings because it seemed amusing to break the unwritten tradition that rivals did not get involved in romance, but he did not bother to ask.) and he was always lenient to the Silver King anyway, so there they were, sitting before the best Japan's medical team he could gather.

He examined Mikoto, being completely wary that he would lose his composure and cause havoc in the conference room with his fiery temperament, but the Red King did nothing of sort. If anything, there was a storm inside those down casted golden eyes and his posture was slightly slouched. Somehow he felt a pang of sympathy, but he did not voice it. His staffs were looking at him, inquiring his permission to lay out the truth. He eventually said with a curt nod of his head, "Just answer him."

The doctor in his middle-age with streak of gray hairs among raven-colored one cleared his throat and stared straight at Mikoto, as his clear voice echoed slightly in the confined compartment. "No. Even with latest technology, we have no means to induce arousal. Until then, we can only keep observing and preventing complications."

They fell into a heavy silence once again and despite the bright sunshine and cloudless sky outside the window, the atmosphere was so bleak inside the meeting room as if there was murky cloud floating above them. Daikaku crossed his arms inside his kimono sleeves and finally interrupted the suffocating stillness. "Thank you for the explanation. You may all leave." It did not take a minute for the whole team to hurriedly leave the room and returned to their posts with a chorus of relieved sighs. Even though none of them intentionally pressed the doctors, the presences of three mighty kings gave tremendous pressure on ordinary human beings.

When the door was closed, leaving only the first kings and Mikoto, Isana began softly as he rubbed the back of his head, "Well, they did say that there is still hope for waking up…"

"It has been a year, Weismann. It would be better not to hold high expectation." The Gold King said, avoiding disdained look from his best friend for blundering his effort to keep Mikoto's spirit high.

"A miracle can only occur if you wish for it, lieutenant." Isana gave a hard stare at the old king. Daikaku seemed to be uncertain but he did not contradict him. They then all averted their focus on Mikoto, who abruptly stood up and left the room without a word.

 

* * *

 

' _He will be unconscious until the years he is indebted for travelling time are fully paid.'_

Mikoto recalled the last time he encountered the time-travel strain as he walked without thinking of a destination across the white corridor of the medical wing of Gold King's private residence. Ever since that day, he made no attempt to hunt after the strain, not when he remembered that the young boy would probably no longer in this world. He only bothered to memorize those words, which rang inside his mind, and they keep echoing like perpetual ripples in the lake, especially on recent weeks. It might be because they almost reached the day when the Colorless King's life ended in his hand along with Gold King and Silver King.

He kept a hope inside, believing every word Akizuki have offered and waiting for the day when he could at last see those blinking violet eyes and listen to the incessant nitpick of certain blue-head king. But patience was not his forte, and when time kept ticking, trepidation slowly sneaked into his heart, inflicting constant agony as his faith crumbled.

_Just how much time is Munakata actually in debt?_

How many years would he have to wait until the frozen hand of time started to move again? Mikoto even wondered if Munakata would even wake up before death found him first.

As promised, Silver King enthusiastically started his research and Mikoto begrudgingly became his subject of study. The study was advancing slowly, but it was moving forward. While conducting his research, the silver-haired student began living with his Clansmen, and as if he had multiple personalities, he reverted back to his cheerful side as if the tragedy involving the Colorless King never occurred although when he was alone with the First King, he would often show wise expression that did not match up with his childlike feature. The Black Dog, the vassal of previous Colorless King still followed the same master along with the female cat strain; occasionally bickering with each other like the world was free of trouble. The view somewhat did not differ much with what he usually found every noon in HOMRA bar.

Just like record had stated, Weismann was indeed a historical genius with his achievement and progress of the research. They still had not found a way to restore the cracking Sword of Damocles to its original glory, but the Silver King had been working on a device to interrupt the link between Dresden Slate and the Kings temporarily by creating noise (he could not comprehend the detail and decide that it did not interest him, so he ignored Weismann's long, frenzied explanation). While it was made in order to counter king's infinite supremacy who might abuse the power of Dresden and to prevent the history of last Colorless King from repeating itself, Weismann had suggested that it might help for Mikoto to dwindle the pressure by uncontrollable Red Aura when he did not need it. So far, the prototype had indeed helped him to sleep without constant nightmare to haunt him, although in consequence he had to bring along his lighter in his pocket since a flick of his finger did not help him anymore to light up his cigarette.

Nevertheless, even though the dreadful dream involving fire storm and dust and crimson blood had stopped, he still could not rest without being awakened in the middle of the night with cold sweat drenching his back. A peaceful sleep was still beyond his reach, when he always saw the same view every time he closed his eyes; the painted aquamarine world surrounded by ice, the casket filled by blue roses and the peacefully sleeping Munakata with pale skin inside it. No matter how loud he had called his name, the passage of time seemed to freeze over and there was nothing alive aside himself.

A feminine voice suddenly interrupted the train of his thoughts, "Are you visiting?"

When Mikoto lifted up his chin, he met the azure-colored orbs and gleaming golden strands falling in front of a beautiful yet distant face. He slapped himself mentally for not even noticing that he was musing along the way as his feet carried him to the medical wing where Munakata had been confined. Seri did not offer a smile when she saw Mikoto coming from the other side of hallway, although it already became his habit to frequently drop in to visit Munakata's guarded room. No matter how many time had passed, Scepter 4 would always be wary of him, fearing that he would someday lose himself to Red Aura when he was near their defenseless Captain since his Sword was already at the brink of collapsing ever since last year's incident. It was almost like one drop of misfortune and Mikoto would lose the balance and became the calamity. They did not even want to imagine if the moment was to come when Mikoto was in the same room with Blue King.

However, Mikoto would always brush off the suspicion and answered nonchalantly, "Yes." And Seri would always move aside from the entrance door, to allow him an entry. After all, it was useless trying to stop Mikoto. Once he decided on one thing, he would not back away and the last thing Seri needed was a commotion just outside her king's chamber.

"Then please behave yourself." Seri averted her eyes, and gazed down at the marble floor as she took a step away from the door. Mikoto only nodded in gratitude before he reached out for the door knob and pushed it to get inside. Just as soon as the door was opened, his golden eyes met Fushimi's impassive ones. The young commander was sitting on a chair beside the only hospital bed in the room with crossed arms, looking bored before he noticed Mikoto's ingress and curtly turned his head away with a click of his tongue in annoyance and translucent displeasure on his face. When Mikoto stepped inside the room, the raven-haired officer at once walked out of the room, bumping the Red King by shoulder intentionally, almost too hard for an accident. Fushimi continued striding out of the room without even looking back or offering an apology and slammed the door as he exited.

Mikoto smirked at Fushimi's small retaliation against him visiting his Captain. He thought that the black-haired teen was too distant that he hated human interaction in overall, since Fushimi seemed to befriend no one in HOMRA but Yata Misaki. However, it appeared that Munakata had done well in gaining his trust.

Mikoto's mind ran back toward Munakata when his eyes landed on the resting king. For almost a year, he had been doing the same routine that he probably could walk to Munakata's bedside without using his sight. But even so, the pang of guilt whenever his feet breached the space would always stab him, no matter how often he had seen that lonely figure on the hospital bed, sheathed by a pristine white blanket.

As he sat on the side of Munakata's bed, the cushion creaked slightly as it dipped under the extra weight. Mikoto spent a minute in silence, observing every little detail his eyes could perceive from the man in front of him. The same man who lied wasted in this small, tedious room was entirely different back then. Munakata Reisi was supposed to be a composed and logical man, who often had weird sense of humor and constantly annoying and sardonic toward Mikoto while inside he was a loving King, and had a soft spot for children. He was supposed to be strong and regal with flawless elegance in every little movement that mesmerized Mikoto because it was not _just_ for a man to be this naturally graceful. He was faithful to his principal, like a scale, to a fault. That trait has always tempted Mikoto to mess him up or at least throw him off the balance, because it would be the rare moments when for once, Munakata would fluster, be it from frustration or embarrassment. For precious brief seconds, his cool and composed mask would be forgotten and showed his endearing humane side.

But this was no longer the case and Mikoto had missed his companion, regardless his antics. No matter how often he visited to disturb Munakata's slumber, he would remain still; chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Totsuka once commented that he should try fairy tale method, but Mikoto shrugged him off with a snort. After all, even before the absurd idea came up, he already left more kisses on those pale, dry lips than they ever had when both of them were alive and well. He had proven, and so was medical field that nothing could enforce his blue-haired lover's awakening but time itself.

When he realized it, Mikoto already found a lock of soft sapphire blue strands between his fingertips. It felt so natural for him now to stretch his hand and reached out for Munakata side bangs which were left to grow longer than a year ago. He rubbed against its softness wistfully, as he lowered his head until his chin was tucked on the junction between Munakata's shoulder and collar bone."This is probably our punishment. Because I try to take the easy road while leaving the hard work to you, and because you just don't know when to give up and get tempted by the devil's offer in the end," said Mikoto in hushed voice next to Munakata's ear. "And it's okay, because I don't much choice but waiting anyway until you pay your debt. But now I'm wondering if you're not waking up also because you don't wish it." Mikoto clenched his fist and took a full grip on Munakata's front kimono until the fabric creased messily. "Munakata," He emphasized the name under threatening tone.

"You would probably say, that I'm telling nonsense." Mikoto chuckled bitterly as he felt the thumping heartbeats against his chest. Mikoto paused to sit up and watched the man beneath him. There was not even a twitch of his finger and Mikoto's mind laughed cynically.

When he glanced to the outside absentmindedly, a taint of dreary cloud hovered just at the edge of the ginger-colored horizon with hues of violet, enveloping the sun glare. Mikoto was observing the contrast of the weather when he muttered quietly, "When we destroyed him, the weather was like today too." He remembered vaguely that they had broken into Gold King's palace under the intense burning sun light. Then by end of the day, the air had turned into gust of icy chill with fluttering snowflakes, signaling the early winter. He allowed his mind to drift back to rewind the time in his memories while forgetting the real time.

After a moment that felt less than an hour, he snapped out of his reverie when a knock on the door reached his ears. As he whirled around, Seri had stood with crossed arms in front of her bosoms with an expression that Mikoto had trouble to read. She simply stared at him for a brief moment before she forced out a long exhale, "Visiting hour almost ends. Please leave the premise now, Suoh Mikoto."

"And if I don't?" A hint of smirk was apparent in his voice. As expected, Seri narrowed her icy eyes precariously. It was not difficult for him to press her button (especially with her beloved king just within his arm length), but he never crossed the line. It would bore him to death if Izumo complained to him all night long because a certain beautiful blonde he had crushed on lashed her rage out at him. He slid his hands into his pockets and bounced off the cushion casually before he strolled out of the room, passing through her without a word.

Seri watched warily at the retreating back before she gave a long forlorn stare at her fallen king and shut the door close softly after turning off the light. She had requested the Gold King's permission for Scepter 4 assuming full responsibility of guarding their Blue King personally, but the Second King did not even grant her an answer that she had no choice but to back down under his fierce look. Biting her lower lip in frustration, she approached the standby rabbit guard and bowed slightly at them, "We entrust our king to you. Please guard him well."

The raven robes rustled as the Gold Clansmen bowed back at her wordlessly and went to their post in front of the chamber door, standing still as if they were the guardian statues.  
  


* * *

  
"Sigh, this is totally boring!" Domyoji tossed his cards in his hand on the mahogany table carelessly before he leaned back on the sofa. "Without Captain, we don't have much to do. Chasing after weak Strains in the city upside down has no thrill."

"Say that again when you can write your report properly," Fushimi seethed without thinking as his eyes were fixed on his computer screen, typing furiously on the keyboard. A vein popped on his head as his frustration kept piling up because of the endless reports that required revision. How could his colleagues inconsiderately play card games when he was sitting just across them on his working desk, rewriting their amateur-class reports? Furthermore, did they even graduate from high school for being only able to write mediocre content with worst writings?

The ginger-head officer turned his head toward Fushimi and laughed lopsidedly from the comfortable cushion, "Aww, don't be too serious, Fushimi. It will be horrible if your hair turns white when Captain wakes up."

His hands flinched and halted in their lithe dance above the keyboard. Fushimi shifted in his chair uncomfortable and fixed his eyeglasses unnecessarily as mumbled softly, "If he ever wakes up."

Domyoji frowned for a second and gritted his teeth and yelled while slamming his palms on the table until they were angry red from the hit, "Hey! What does that mean!? Of course he will!"

Fushimi slowly turned his chair to face his colleagues who watched him edgily, but when they met his somber eyes, their anger quickly dissipated and only awkward silence set in, in exchange for the transient fury. They all understood the resigned feeling that had lingered like an unbroken curse inside their imperial HQ. They all had kept waiting and waiting until their fortitude ran dry and yet there was still no sign of their King to tread his way into the building again.

Akiyama glanced at the Domyoji to make him apologize to Fushimi for raising his voice, but the gesture only aggravated the sunset-colored haired man. "Then I dare you! I bet that Captain will probably wake up in 3 days!" shouted Domyoji with shrill laughter, while lifting his leg on the edge of their table and pointing at Fushimi. "If I lose, I swear I will keep re-writing my report until it meets your standard!"

Akiyama paled instantly at the bet, "Domyoji, you shouldn't…" After all, his writing was the worst and always gained the most scorned look from Fushimi whenever he submitted the report. It would fry his brain and kill him in the progress, if anything. Fushimi's standard was beyond their capability.

Fushimi frowned at the irrational exclaim. In his opinion, he did not like to lay his fate on something called luck. He was determined to keep winning, and thus he would make an effort to achieve it. Betting games was not to his liking. Even card games were probability sports that he only had to use math to come out as victorious. In short, if he did not have to, he would not bet on anything. But the offer was too tempting in this occasion. Only Heaven knew how many nights he had to stay up late to rewrite Domyoji mediocre-at-best reports. If he could enslave the latter to make him rewriting the whole things on his own, he could save some energy and it would be quite entertaining to torture that vigorous colleague.

After all, how could he lose? For a year, Captain was still not awake. What could possibly happen in three meager days?

Fushimi rose from his chair and grinned with a glint of wicked in his deep blue eyes. "Sure, why not? You better prepare yourself to go back to school to learn writing."

Domyoji flinched and stuttered a little at Fushimi's confidence, but his manly pride would not allow him to back off the game he started himself. "H-hmph! If you lose, you gonna be the first one to hug Captain once he wakes up, to redeem yourself!"

Fushimi wrinkled his nose and frowned. He just could not bring himself to display such affection in public, especially before his co-workers' eyes. He could not even imagine himself to hug anyone, not even his Captain. _Hell_ , he even always fought the urge to embrace a certain red-haired fiery teen that he wished to tuck him in the box and keep him safe for himself. He would admit that he did keep his superior on the top list of tolerable persons in his book, just under Misaki's name, in case he decided to destroy the world and exterminate everyone within it. But he still doubted that he would lose his poise just because his Captain had awakened.

He started to feel like giving up on this silly game. It was not as if he would care to hurt his pride by putting off the game when he just accepted it. But he calculated the benefit if he won the prize, so he decided to keep the deal. "Just be prepared. I'll make you re-write the reports until you drop dead."

The rest of Scepter4 members exchanged worried glance at each other before they all gave a pitiful stare at Domyoji, to his surprise. "What?! How can all of you be not on my side!?" He accused with abandoned puppy look and the others averted their eyes with weak laughs. They would not dare to risk themselves being whipped around by Fushimi to fix their reports. It would mean no short breaks, no weekends, no early leave, and they just could not survive that, considering how taxing their jobs already without those damn official reports.

"You all traitors!" He screamed before he wailed pitifully while running out of their assembly room.

Fushimi snorted as he resumed his work with a devilish smirk.  
  


* * *

  
The bell chimed as the door was opened.

Totsuka and Anna quickly peeked out their head to see the visitor they had been expecting. "Welcome back, King!" said the blond lopsidedly with a grin. "How is it today?"

Izumo was in the middle of drying off the dishes behind the counter when he lifted his eyes to meet Mikoto's. He only needed a glance at Mikoto to get his answer. The gestures were subtle, but they had known for so long that he could read the red-haired king from his bearing. After all, their king was not exactly a communicative type either that most often than not, they had to try to read him. It was not difficult after a long effort. While Mikoto would not speak what had burdened his mind, his posture was honest and gave all the hints they needed.

Mikoto quickly caught on what the blond was implying and simply shrugged and shook his head. Totsuka's smiled faltered a little bit, before he brought himself to give the latter a bright grin. "Well, no worries. It will be just fine! He will come around sooner or later."

The Red King answered him with a faint grateful smile before he walked inside the bar and sat on the sofa beside Totsuka, only to flop down and lay down his head on his lap. Anna jumped off her chair from Totsuka's side only to circle around the table and dropped herself on the floor, next to Mikoto. She folded her arms at the edge of the cushion and propped her chin on them, so her face was so close to Mikoto. "It's okay. I can feel it will be fine, Mikoto."

Mikoto turned his head to face the little princess and watched as the ruby eyes were as clear as crystals and bright with joy although her lips did not show her smile. He exhaled with a little beam before he put his large head on top of her silver-haired head, patting lightly. She leant into his touch with closed eyes to savor the safety she felt from his affectionate gesture and smiled faintly.

"Thanks, Anna."

She nodded and laid her head on her arms, next Mikoto. His presence made her felt secure and warm that she just did not want to leave his side. Moreover, her king was slightly down, more than usual for today after coming home. Anna wondered if they told bad news about the Blue King to Mikoto, because that subject seemed to be the only thing that could influence him to this extent recently. She wanted him to be happy again, and she believed it was not beyond his reach. But Mikoto would probably not believe her when she said everything would be fine. He would probably think that she was just consoling him. She did not have anything to back her up and she could only sense it. There was no way she could compete for Mikoto's faith when the Gold King's team would probably have spread the facts before him.

Her saddened thought was probably shown on her face blatantly that Mikoto's stern voice snapped her out of her trance, "Anna, I believe you." _More than them. More than anyone._ The last part was left hanging in the air, unsaid, but she understood that she replied with her angelic smile and the gloom on her face had been lifted.

Izumo heaved a sigh and approached them while wiping his hands with a towel. "Well, enough with this gloom. Any request for dinner?"  
  


* * *

  
His rest was dreamless. It felt like drifting the sea of blackness and he was void of sensation, as if floating in the vast space, at the same time, at nothingness. However, it was much better. He preferred this kind of reverie, better than to see the sea of flame, crumbling ruin of the city, and the scream of pain and sadness. It was better than to see a single, sad coffin in the world of white and blue roses and the stillness of the atmosphere.

But the luxury of pleasant slumber was short-lived.

The darkness was still wrapping around him when a blaring noise of his phone interrupted his slumber. His golden eyes simply stared in disdain at his phone with an agonizing groan, which was abandoned just next to him on the bed before he gave a quick glance at the outside of his window. It was probably past midnight, but the daybreak had yet arrived to greet his eyes as no single light had dawned on the jet black sky. The snow fluttered slowly and the mist had fogged his window until he barely made out the outline of the outside view.

When his foggy mind had cleared up for a little bit with the noise, he reached out for it to see the impudent caller and maybe picked it up to threaten the one on the other line. But when he pressed the button to pick up the call, the line went dead because of prolonged idle time.

Mikoto frowned and tossed it back before he threw himself again on the pillow, allowing the sleep to claim him again. However, not even a minute had passed when the noise returned and annoyed him. He grabbed for the phone roughly and watched the screen displaying private number. He pondered if he should just reject it and resume his sleep or pick it up and promise a painful death to the intruder. He decided to pick the second option that he brought the phone to his ear, suppressing a growl as he asked, "Who is this?"

"Ah! Finally you pick it up! You should have answered it sooner, you know." The airy voice that he quite recognized as the Silver King's sounded a bit distant from the other line. There was background noise like a crowd standing on Weismann's place.

Mikoto glared at his phone, retorting with a hoarse filled with sleep voice, "It is not even morning. What do you want?"

"Well, I just assume that you would like to hear the news earlier than anyone else. Lieutenant told me to wait until morning, but I disagreed. Now I wonder if I make a mistake." His singsong voice only irritated Mikoto, adding the fuel to fire. If he was there, he would probably hit the latter's head in annoyance. Mikoto heaved a tired sigh and yawned, "Just spit it, or I'll turn it off."

"I'm sorry, I don't intend to irritate you." The man on the other line chuckled a little, and the apology did not sound sincere enough that Mikoto scowled angrily; his thumb was on the verge of pressing the red-colored phone button. "He is awake just now. The night-shift nurse finds him first. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about."

His hand shook as he flinched at the news that his thumb accidentally pressed the dial-off button. Mikoto stared at the device blankly, trying to register the news, wondering if he was in the middle of a dream. He just could not decide if he was numb because he was overjoyed or he was being skeptical about it. In the end, a minute passed in silence and he still could not figure it out. The phone did not ring back either, and the anxiety began to set in that he was really just imagining it.

As his last attempt to confirm his dread, Mikoto hurriedly leapt off his bed and grabbed for his favorite black fur jacket hanging in the nearby chair and put it on while he mechanically started running for the exit. He did not even think of closing his door room gently that it slammed shut too loud. By the time his feet had reached the last stair, a perturbed sleepy voice rang just before him, "Mikoto?"

Mikoto whirled around and waited impatiently for a while until Izumo appeared just at the top of the stair. The blond stifled a yawn and rubbed his eyes, "Seriously, man, I thought there was a burglar when I've just installed a new bar light and several sets of champagne crystal glass. What are you doing at this hour?"

Izumo noticed how agitated his friend was despite the dim light of the room, just at the end of the stairs, but it was not a negative kind of agitation. If he had to guess, it was more like an ecstatic agitation Izumo had back then when the blond bartender asked a girl out for a date on middle high school. He quirked up an eyebrow questioningly, "Did something happen?"

The red-haired man stared up in daze, as if he was staring at something past through Izumo. "No, I just have to confirm something."

The blond caught a hint that Mikoto did not wish to talk about it yet. It would be pointless him then to coax him for an answer. "Ok. See you then."

In a blink of eye, his friend had dashed out the door in surprising speed he never showed outside the battle field and even left it open in his rush, causing the winter wind to trespass and fill up the room. Izumo slightly shivered, grumpily muttered at how cold the air was and how absentminded for Mikoto for not closing the door and saving him from the trouble.

Not even a single ray of light had even peeked through the gray cloud and the road was empty as if he was crossing on the dead city. Mikoto could even count the passing cars with one hand although he paid no heed to such trivia. Who could blame the inhabitant? It was still dead at night and the freezing air was biting to the bones. No one in the right mind would like to walk around in the middle of the city voluntarily. Even a passing bystander would raise an eyebrow at him for running in the middle of snowfall without an umbrella or adequate fabric warmer.

The snow melted when it touched his sweaty skin, but the cold it carried failed to seep into his pores. However, the wintry air he took in still felt painful and dry on his throat. A white mist was released with every exhale of his breath. He kept running as fast as his legs could carry him, as far as he could be. Once in a while he would slow down and walk in quick pace, while catching up with his ragged pants. To his dismay, it was out of operating hours for public transport and the snowstorm would hinder the trains from moving either. Nevertheless, the hospital where Munakata had been confined and isolated was still rather far, since it was placed close from Gold King's residence. He grumbled in impatience, but kept pushing himself to get his destination sooner, even if only a minute.

He just had to know. _To confirm_.  
  


* * *

  
"Whoa…are you running all the way here?" Weismann tilted his head with a surprised grin as his eyes found Mikoto, who was briefly stopping by the entrance door of the hospital to calm down his palpitating heartbeats and gasping breaths. "That's a lot sooner that I've expected. I even prepare to wait for another 2-3 hours until your arrival."

Mikoto narrowed his eyes at the young teen who was currently sitting with crossed legs on the deserted lobby with a dim light. A random magazine that was prepared from the hospital in waiting room was sprawled on his lap. It was apparent that the latter was waiting for him.

After his pants had fallen into a steadier rhythm, Mikoto stepped into the lobby and stood before the latter with crossed arms, looking demanding, "Well?" He took off the bracelet on his left wrist, a gift from Silver King, to let the Red Aura to flow into him again in a flash and warm him up. Once the warmth turned into fire inside him, he put on his Aura-manacle again and the sound of Dresden Slate felt distant once more.

The silver-haired teen let out a heavy sigh dramatically, "You should have at least listened to me until the end, you know."

Mikoto glared at him. "If this is a joke, I swear I'll kill you."

Weismann shut close the magazine almost forcefully and smiled, "Of course I don't. I'm not that mean." He rose from the chair and walked past through Mikoto to return the book to its rightful place when he said, "But if you listen to me, you'll know that it's useless for you to come this early."

"What do you mean?" Mikoto followed behind the young student as Weismann treaded his way to password-locked elevator, leading to the private inpatient room.

"The staff found him awake just an hour ago. But when the doctor team arrived, he had resumed his sleep again." The elevator made a 'ding' sound before the door was opened. Mikoto swiftly went in just after the first king and it went up with a whirring sound in the background. "After that, he still haven't opened his eyes. But the doctors said not to worry. The Blue King is probably just sleeping since patients like him usually feels extreme exhaustion that they will spend time sleeping more than healthy people until they are getting better."

"So he will wake up, right?" The thumping of his hopeful heart was too loud that it was deafening his ears.

"Based to the doctors, yes. Hopefully this morning or noon." Weismann grinned at him merrily as he stood leaning against the wall across Mikoto. "Kuroh is keeping guard on him, while some of the rabbits are inspecting the staffs and the place to keep the security to maximum level. If you want to wait and rest, there is a waiting room with a bed in it just next to Blue King's room. Lieutenant has prepared it, already assuming that you will insist on staying here."

Mikoto kept the answer to himself, already thinking deeply of what he should say or where he should begin if Munakata was finally capable of responding to his voice. The dread clenched tight on his chest that for once in his life, he felt like running away from this constricting pain. At the same time, his heart fluttered in hope and the excitement was too much that he felt dizzy and he wished that the elevator would just stop sooner.

When the confining device abruptly halted and the door slide opened leisurely, Mikoto swiftly slipped out through the slit. Weismann shook his head with a little chuckle at such youthful impatience and trailed behind Mikoto on his own relaxed pace. His job was done. His role was only to be the informant and now he would just observe how things would flow from here on. Just from the other side of the hallway, his amber eyes noticed that Kuroh had caught a sight on him that the raven-haired vassal quickly walked away from the door, nodding in acknowledgement a little to Mikoto before he walked through him to approach the Silver King.

"Did he do anything to you?" Kuroh stared at the amber eyes in scrutiny before he glanced through his shoulder, watching warily at the Red King who barely noticed his presence.

Weismann let out a soft laugh, barely heard under his breath, "You are too cautious around him. Stop worrying. He cannot kill me, even if he has a reason."

"It doesn't mean that you won't feel pain in your heart." A pair of grey eyes was locked in the smaller man with transparent worry. Even though it was only for a year since he last followed this king confined in youthful vessel, the only one thing he knew for certain was that Weismann had tendency of hurting himself if it could save the others from trouble. He would not speak his own pain or complain, but embracing it as if the problem was entirely his responsibility when it should not be that way. That precise trait always made him anxious. If the man himself would not even bother to pay attention to his own need, it was his strict duty as the vassal to provide it. Deep down, he acknowledged that the feeling he had for his king was something surpassed the obligation of a duty, but the time had not come for him to cross the line between king and his Clansmen.

The white-haired student flushed a little at the attention. He never got used to be the recipient. The only person who displayed affection and concern for his well-being was long dead. Even when he lived the fabricated life as Isana Yashiro and Kukuri poured some concern in the name of friendship, the concern Kuroh always had for him was in totally different level. It made him happy, although he was not entirely sure how to express his gratitude. Instead, he smiled; the exceptional one that he always showed when he was honestly thankful for Kuroh and Neko as his family.  
  


* * *

  
Mikoto walked passed through the door and noticed a small group wearing white coats gathered just on the Blue King's bedside across the door. Some of them were scribbling and taking notes while the rest of them were talking language he barely understood; probably typical medical stuff, in fast motion. Although the chatter among them was just too loud that it should probably enough to bring the dead back to life, Munakata did not even show any sign of waking up. Those violet eyes remained shut as if they were never opened; contradicting what Weismann had notified him what had taken place an hour ago.

None of them realized his presence until he was just a feet away from the other side of hospital bed and stood before them with expectant look. When the Gold King's private medical staff started to become aware of him just at the corner of their eyes, they shared a chorus of gasp and bowed at him a little. The room was suddenly too quiet for his liking.

"Is it true that he has woken up?" Mikoto asked carefully.

They glanced at each other, pushing the responsibility to answer to one another. Although they were specifically chosen by the Gold King himself, these staffs were by all means, no warrior. They did not have a brave hearts, but compassions. Mikoto had realized that they somewhat feared him, like a herd of rabbits cowering before a single sleeping lion. The sight was ironically hilarious.

A female nurse in her thirties stepped forward and coughed to get his attention. "I believe so. I was the one who reported it. The patient was looking outside the window when I came in, approximately at five in the morning. When he noticed me, he turned his head to see me. After that, I went to call the doctor in charge, but he started to doze off by the time we arrived. Since then, he hasn't woken up."

The most senior-looking doctor among them stepped up and added, "In most cases, the comatose patients who have regained their consciousness will gradually increase their waking time unless a complication halts the progress. But on the first days, there is a tendency to remain asleep in majority of their time. We can't tell you when he will precisely wake up, but by following the trend, we hope that his state will improve."

Mikoto nodded absentmindedly, already distracting himself by observing Munakata's pale complexion. He dragged a chair just beside the wall to the bedside, and settled down on it without a care to the world. If the doctors found him to be a nuisance, they had to live with it. There was no way he could allow Munakata to see the stranger faces when he opened his violet eyes again to the world. There was so many apology and objection he had to tell the latter. They were just at the tip of his tongue that the urge to spill it out like a broken dam was just too great.

As he expected, the team was staring at him in disbelief, marveled at his rudeness for already standing in their way for performing examinations. It was not as if they would refuse a patient's acquaintance to stay inside the room when they were doing their job, but Mikoto's presence gave too much pressure and the atmosphere became so tense that most of the doctors felt uncomfortable under his intense, challenging glare. Thus in the end, they scurried out of the door.

When they were finally alone, Mikoto shifted his eyes to the sleeping king. "Come on, Munakata. It's so unlike you to get lazy after sleeping for a year. Get up already."  
  


* * *

  
As if an alarm clock went off inside him, something prodded his consciousness, forcing him to arouse from his sleep. His eyelids felt heavy and his muscles screamed in protest even with a flinch. The light was blindingly hurt even with closed eyelids that he had to squint while adjusting to the uncomfortable luminosity. His mind was pure white, as if someone had just completely erased every history in it. Although his vision was still blurry with the fog of sleep, the first thing he saw was the unfamiliar ceiling.

However, the room felt different than before, when he was awaken for the first time. It was still the same compartment for certain, but it felt more vibrant, with something alive in it. The most obvious thing he noticed, the sunlight had entered through his opened window. The breeze was a little bit chilly, but when it gently stroked his cheeks and swayed his hairs, he felt more alive than before, basking in the stirring sensation. From the periphery of his eyes, he caught the color of pulsating scarlet, just as beautiful as the color of sunset that he held his breath at its magnificence. As he turned his head to face the guest sitting beside him, he noticed the man was nodding off with crossed arms, as if fighting off the slumber he could not resist.

The sight somewhat brought involuntary smile to his face. His brain still felt muddy that in his heart, he understood that he should recognize this man, but he could not make the connection of he was to him. How could he, when he had not recalled his own identity? He wondered if he should feel anxious for being unable to remember, but only the sense of tranquility entered him.

Munakata took a deep inhale and shifted to curl on his side to face Mikoto so he could stare at his sleeping face, as if watching could help him to regain his memories. The ambience around him fell into equilibrium-like, full of something lively and something constant, to his comfort. However, it did not take him long before the air turned cold against his skin, that he could not resist a sneeze. He tried to suppress the sound, hoping that it would not awaken the sleeping one and let the time to remain still between them, but apparently his effort was futile.

A pair of golden eyes was suddenly focused at him once he recovered, bewildered with disbelief and he swore those orbs were glistening like the clear water of the calm lake. Munakata could not understand why, but he felt like they both fell into a state of stalemate. None of them dared to move, he even wondered if any of them remembered to breathe as they were looking at each other as if searching for inexistent answer.

A new, uninvited wave of exhaustion started to flood in that his eyes began to flutter close. Munakata tried to shrug it off because he still wanted to entertain his eyes with colors and hopefully his ears with the voice of the man in front of him, but the temptation was too great. However, before he could plunge back to the solitary dream again, a pair of strong arms was on his shoulders, shaking him roughly. The man with his vermillion-colored hair kept yelling for a familiar name to his mind, effectively putting him back to be vigilant.

Once Munakata's mauve eyes were fixed on him again, Mikoto sighed in relief and pulled the latter to his embrace, running his hand on the soft blue strands endearingly. "Don't sleep on me again now," whispered Mikoto to Munakata's ear as he buried his face on those soft lock, inhaling the familiar scent of Munakata tainted with a whiff of antiseptic.

Munakata made a strangled noise behind his throat as a response as he leant against Mikoto at ease. But before he could enjoy the feeling of secure, Mikoto kept him at arm-length and stared hard at him, asking him anxiously a question he could not comprehend, "Do you still remember what has happened? Do you remember anything?"

He tilted his head in response, questioningly. He could not grasp the question at all and the alarmed tone in Mikoto's voice also irritated him. It was as if Mikoto was reprimanding him for something he could not help. He could already sense the ripple of splitting headache around the corner should he forced his brain to recall any fragment of jumbled memories and the looming threat frightened him. All he wanted was to return to the soothing space inside Mikoto's arms but obviously Mikoto denied him that luxury and it made him angry.

He trashed mildly to break free, glowering at the sight of Mikoto, to Red King's surprise. Mikoto could not understand the change of behavior and the sudden temper of Munakata. He tried to recall anything helpful from the medical staff, but then he remembered that none of them ever mentioned what might happen when a prolonged comatose patient woke up since none of them had a sliver of hope of Munakata ever opening his eyes. He clicked his tongue in annoyance before he yanked Munakata back to his embrace, constraining him before he could hurt himself accidentally.

Eventually Munakata ceased down his feeble retaliation as fatigue washed over him. Mikoto released him when he heard a steady, soft breathing noise and watched as the blue-haired king began to doze off. "Oi, Munakata," said Mikoto firmly with a gentle shake on Munakata's shoulders, snapping him out of his reverie. But this time, Munakata looked increasingly distressed to keep awake with a deep frown burrowed on his forehead. After releasing a suffering sigh, Mikoto tucked the latter back to the bed and pulled up the blanket up to his chin with a gentle pat. "Fine. We'll talk later."

Munakata replied with a fleeting smile before he closed his eyes again and a faint snore followed quickly. Mikoto was just about to stand up and leave the room to notify the staffs, but then he felt a weak tug. He fought a smile from escaping his lips as he saw a fair-skinned hand remained grasping the edge of his white shirt.  
  


* * *

  
Munakata was covering his yawn with his hand and rubbed his sleepy eyes when the room was overcrowded with people he did not recognize. He was sitting on the bed, leaning his back and his weight on the bed board, looking distracted. When he was awake, on his one side, his doctors lined up neatly while standing close to the bed. On the other side, there was a young teenager in his black-clad school uniform sitting next to him and an elder with white hairs wearing traditional Japanese outfit colored with gold. They were holding a discussion in front of him for a while, and it seemed that they were conversing about him, but somehow he could only catch fragments of their conversations and he did not understand most of it. He did try to comprehend what was happening to him, but after five minutes which he could not hold his concentration without having several seconds of blank mind, he just gave up and returned back to doze off sluggishly.

Although those two strangers were busy in paying attention to the white-coated people, the first man he saw ever since he woke up seemed to never avert his golden eyes from him. It made him a little uncomfortable under such intense gaze, but he learned to shrug it off after a while.

"That's really fantastic that he finally wakes up." Weismann lopsidedly grinned, giving a meaningful look to Mikoto. "We probably still have a lot of to do with his adjustment, but I guess we have nothing to worry about? The only problem is, the Red King tells us that our patient here seems to have…minor change in behavior."

"Don't glaze it over, Weismann. He is oblivious and vulnerable." The Gold King interjected, averting his glowering eyes to the silver-haired teen.

The senior doctor cleared his throat before he proceeded with his explanation. "The temporary behavioral change is often reported in prolonged comatose patients, especially with the history of head injury. Some of them may show amnesia, but the severity and its reversibility speed differs from each individual. The patient right now is showing the symptoms of amnesia. In consequence, he forgets the memories and life experiences which define him before the accident. Metaphorically speaking, he is a clean slate paper right now, until he can regain his memories back."

"How should he get back his memories then?" Mikoto crossed his arms in front of his chest, letting out a tiny sigh of relief. At least nothing was life-threatening. Munakata might be different and everything that Mikoto once loved seemed to vanish in a blink of eye, but at least he was alive and there was still likelihood for him to return to the Blue King he had known and loved.

Moreover, Munakata deliberately behaved so openly docile to him that this change of pace did not seem so bad once in a while. He would not be able to experience it again after all once Munakata reverted back to his original self; prideful and independent. Mikoto concluded he should take the opportunity to the fullest that he might be able to use these moments to tease the latter once he regained his memories.

"We can only let him recover his memories in his own pace. Talking to him, showing photos or living the usual routine can help to jog his memory."

"Then it will be better if we allow his Clansmen to visit him," Weismann replied with a pointed look at his friend, "I know that you're just thinking about the Blue King's safety, that's why you restrict their visiting hours. But situation has changed, and he spends most of his time with his Clansmen before everything happened. You can't keep them out if you want him to resume his position soon."

The Gold King made a noise of understanding and nodded in approval, "Fine. As long as he is under surveillance 24/7, I'll give my permission, effective from tomorrow. Now that he is awake, no matter how weak he is at the moment, he should at least be able to perceive danger and alert the guards in time of emergency. How long will he need before he can be discharged?"

The doctor glanced at Munakata who felt the stare and watched the man in white coat questioningly. "We will begin with intense rehabilitation to return his independence in daily life routine and see the progress from there. If there is no complication following, hopefully he can go home in a matter of days."  
  


* * *

  
"Captain!"

A chorus gasps filled with joy echoed in the room. Munakata was sitting on the bed with Mikoto beside him near the window when he snapped his head toward the large number of guests in surprise. He barely had time to adjust with sudden crowd when suddenly the men in blue uniforms lunged forward to him and few of them hugged him altogether like a giant snowman. Although it felt awkward since he did not really remember them despite the sense of familiarity and this team hug was hurting him, but a happiness and relief bubbled from inside him that he gave a soft laugh and returned the embrace.

Eventually Domyoji pulled back and looked worried again, "Is it true that you lost your memories? That you don't remember us?"

"You better don't ask him that. Every time someone asks that question, he suffers headache and goes back to sleep." Mikoto interrupted their teary reunion with crossed arms and pointed look at Munakata's subordinates. Munakata lowered his eyes, looking slightly guilty but said nothing.

"O-oh, sorry, Captain. I didn't know." Domyoji pulled his hands away from his king as if his touch could burn him. "But we're glad that you are okay!"

Fushimi shifted uncomfortably as he stood behind the group, next to Awashima that earned a questioning look from lieutenant, who was quite considerably relieved at the sight of her Captain faring well. "What's wrong, Fushimi?"

The voice of Awashima grabbed Domyoji's immediate attention and the young officer suddenly shot up and pointed his finger at Fushimi with wicked grin, "I win! Now you have to fulfill your end at our bet!"

Awashima tilted her head, "What kind of bet?"

Fushimi turned his head to the side to hide his embarrassment and discomfort that Akiyama decided to help him with a little laugh. "They made a bet if Captain will wake up in three days or not. If he loses, he will do his report properly. But if he wins, Fushimi has to hug Captain. Surprisingly, it's Domyoji's win."

The blonde lieutenant snorted a laugh and chuckled politely. If it was a normal condition, she would have reprimanded them for making such a silly bet, but at the moment, happiness was an understatement on how she felt and a little bit fun would not hurt that she decided to go along with it. "Well, Fushimi, a man should not back out from his promise."

Fushimi clicked his tongue, frustrated and quickly strode across the room until he stood just next to his oblivious Captain and his colleagues moved aside to make way for him with amused look. He swore that he would get them back for teasing him in public like this. He could only wish that when Munakata regained his memories, this shameful moment would be erased instead, or else the evil man would certainly bring it up often to pull his leg. The mauve eyes stared up at him curiously and Fushimi spent a few seconds in reluctance. He heaved a deep sigh as if bracing himself for the hardest hurdle he ever faced.

He quickly pulled his Captain to an awkward hug and as fast as he hugged him, he pulled back and dashed out of the room with flustered face and dark glare on Domyoji before he left. Akiyama only laughed weakly while his friend shivered at the looming threat of pain.

Mikoto only looked amused at the little game in front of his face. It was not often to see Fushimi to be flustered and furious like that. No matter how much they teased him back then in Homra, they failed to get any reaction further than a scoff besides Yata.

"Fushimi…Saruhiko?" Munakata tried with his hoarse voice as he watched the vanishing figure, looking a little bit confused before he brightened up as if a realization dawned on him.

The Scepter 4 members were astonished at the moment before they rushed back to his side. Akiyama started hopefully, "Captain! Do you remember us!?"

Munakata lifted his finger to point at the blonde before he smiled a little, "Awashima."

Her blue eyes glistened with pooled tears as Awashima gasped and covered her mouth with her hands before she moved forward and took Munakata's hand in hers, saying with shaky voice, "Captain, I'm so glad."

"Does it mean that he starts remembering?" Enomoto exchanged curious glance with Hidaka, but the latter only shook his head with uncertainty. But the sound of chair clattering to the floor gained their attention and all of them turned their heads in shock to find Mikoto glowering at their Captain with a transparent ire and a hint of betrayal, who in return only watched back at the fiery golden eyes impassively. Seri tensed up, as well as the rest of Scepter 4, preparing herself to defend her king in case Mikoto would unleash his violence inside a patient's room, but the moment never came. He did not say anything when Mikoto circled around the bed and left the room in silence, leaving Seri dumbfounded and stupefied at what had just happened.  
  


* * *

  
Izumo took a deep inhale of cigarette as he leant against a pillar in front of the hospital while Anna played with the seam of her red dress as she sat on the lobby stair. The outpatient lobby was almost empty as the sun had setting down and most of the hospital activities had been limited to emergencies. He was picking up his best friend at the hospital under Anna's personal request, but he did not expect to see the dark shadow on Mikoto's face once he found him sitting in the hospital bench alone outside the building.

"I think you're jealous that he remembers them, but not you." Izumo sighed with a frown as he blurted out blatantly, "But it's to be expected. He spent most of his time with them because of work and they are his clansmen."

Mikoto made a noise like an agreement, but he did not look any happier. He knew that he should be pleased that Munakata at least had regained his consciousness, with or without memories after a long-waited year and he owed a gratitude for what the latter had done one year ago for Tatara. But he could not deny the disappointment that sunk in the pit of his stomach when he heard the name of Fushimi and Awashima escaping Munakata's lips, but not his.

Despite his bitterness, he understood that the reason for it was his and Munakata's to blame. They made such a convenient relationship, without name or attachment. Mikoto only met him when they coincidentally encountered each other in public places, or when he created a havoc that required Scepter 4 to be dispatched. Even when they were unconsciously entangled in each others' arms after sex, they were not typically vocal in sharing their personal lives unless the topic came up. Munakata would always blabber tirelessly on how careless or vulgar Mikoto was, but he would not share any part of his personal life with Mikoto. In contrary, Mikoto was not one to speak unless a question was thrown at him and he felt like answering it. In short, their communication was quite lacking and pathetically flawed. There was nothing much between them. With such brittle affiliation, how could he ask the impossible for Munakata to remember him more than his own people? Nevertheless, he still could not get rid the murky feeling like envy swarming inside.

"Don't you think that this is your chance if you want to do something about it? He doesn't remember anything means that you can start over." Izumo pushed himself from the pillar and stood beside Mikoto, putting his hand on Mikoto's shoulder before he walked down the stairs. Anna rose and dusted off her dress and trotted to Mikoto's side, asking gently, "Are you coming with us?"

Mikoto gazed down at her beautiful ruby eyes for a good moment before he shook his head and patted her head with his hand. "No, you go first. I'll catch up later."

Her face fell a little in disappointment, but she nodded and leapt off the flight of stairs to Izumo's side.

Mikoto did not waste his time before he whirled around on his heel and put his hands in his pockets as he walked back inside the hospital with an unwavering look.  
  


* * *

  
Munakata had just woken up from his short nap to find himself alone in the room. His guests probably thought that they should leave him to get his rest when he fell asleep during their visit. His violet eyes instinctively searched for the man with scarlet hair in the room, but there was no other presence but him in the room. He wondered if Mikoto was still furious at him for reason he could not phantom.

Although his memory about Mikoto was vague and he still doubted him, he would not deny the longing when Mikoto was not there. He sighed involuntarily and stared hollowly at the forlorn twilight from the window.

He jolted in surprise at the creaking sound of opened door, only to see Mikoto appearing from the slit of the entrance.

"Good, so you're still awake." Mikoto slipped in and closed the door behind him before he came close to hospital bed. He dragged one of the chairs to sit on it beside the pristine white bed sheet.

"Are you still angry?" He asked in croaking voice. After a year without using his vocal cord, he sounded like shattering glass every time he talked that he could not help but wince as he listened to it.

"What?"

Munakata rolled his eyes as he asked in accusing tone, "You walked out this afternoon looking like you would kill someone."

Mikoto chuckled. He lifted his hand to reach out and run his fingers along Munakata's side bang and kissed it tenderly, "I guess I did."

"Why?" Munakata asked absent-mindedly. He pulled back a little to keep the distance between them as a discomfort feeling swelled inside him, like fluttering butterflies inside his stomach, with how close Mikoto's face to his. However, Mikoto's grasp on his strands kept him in place. His violet eyes shifted to anywhere else other than those piercing golden ones.

"Because I love you." Mikoto said briefly.

The Red King smiled bitterly when the blue-haired man in front of him froze. He continued, "I know that you don't remember anything, so you can't answer it. So I'll tell you instead."

Munakata hesitantly glanced at him, "Were we in relationship?"

"No," Mikoto pondered for a bit and corrected himself, "I don't know. It's complicated."

"But I don't know you at all. When those officers visited, I vaguely recalled them, but not you."

"Wow, you sure you don't remember? Even with amnesia, your cynicism still sticks around." Mikoto replied with an amused scoff while Munakata blushed in shame at the criticism. "I don't blame you. We are not going out. It was just a conventional relationship."

" _Con…ventional_?" He tried slowly.

"That means that we are just using each other to get off." Mikoto explained with an even expression. In contrary, the red color in Munakata's cheek only grew deeper and he nearly choked. Munakata squeaked as he protested, "Do you really have to say it crudely like that?"

Mikoto brushed his comment off and took Munakata's hands in his, "I'm sick of lies and secrets. I love you."

"What kind of answer are you expecting from me?" Munakata peeled his eyes away from Mikoto. "I don't remember you. I might never get my memories back."

Mikoto fell into silence as he felt the insecurities from Munakata before he took his hands and clasped them in his. "You will. The doctors said so."

Munakata tentatively gazed up to look at Mikoto. Mikoto's declaration was the last thing he expected to hear, the moment he entered the room. If anything, he was not prepared to answer such confession. But it piqued his interest. What kind of answer the old him would give to Mikoto? What kind of person he was back then and why would they keep such heartless relationship? While he was dying to know, it scared him to find out since he had a glimpse of impression that he was a callous man from the way the people, who introduced themselves as his subordinates, and Mikoto talked to him. "Why would you like someone cold-hearted like me?"

"You're just socially impaired." Mikoto laughed, to Munakata's annoyance. "If you're cold-hearted, you won't bother with me. You won't save Tatara's life at the risk of your own."

"I don't understand what you're talking about." Munakata answered, deadpanned.

Mikoto sighed, "You don't have to. I just need to say it."

"If that's the case, I don't have to give you an answer for your confession, do I?"

Mikoto frowned. He scowled right away, "I take back my words. You're cold-hearted."

"So you don't love me anymore?" Munakata asked as he feigned a hurt expression. Mikoto rolled his eyes and snorted, "You have to do more than that to make me not to love you."

Mikoto put his fingers on Munakata's chin to lift his head up before he quickly closed off the distance between them and clamped his lips on the other. His other hand snaked into the back of Munakata's neck to keep him still while pushing the latter backward until Munakata's back was on the soft bed sheet.

His first instinct was to retaliate, but then the kiss certainly did not feel like it was his first time. He recognized the pleasant pressure as their lips met each other and the moaning sound escaping them. He knew by heart the sultry touch of Mikoto's lips and the softness of Mikoto's crimson hair between his fingers as he returned the kiss. Something prodded inside his mind noisily as he indulged his desire, like he could see a glimpse of fractured and fragmented memories, but they were still beyond his reach.

When they pulled back, they were gasping and panting softly, desperate for air. Munakata could not help but chuckling, "This definitely feels familiar. Was this a part of conventional relationship you are talking about?"

"Yeah. Should we go all the way so you might remember?" Mikoto smirked mischievously.

Munakata swore he saw a wicked glint inside those golden orbs. He narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "My intuition tells me to say no and not to trust you."

"Yeah, you shouldn't." Mikoto sniggered before he tilted his head again to recapture his prize for his patience after a year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here is another lie. This is not the last chapter, hahahah…I can't put all these into one final chapter apparently. So, yeah, there will be next chapter, and this time it will really be the last one. This one is probably the longest chapter ever throughout the whole story.


	12. Intertwined

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and exhausting condition continuously until death do them part.” ― George Bernard Shaw, Getting Married

The office was disturbingly silent, except for the sound of scraping pen against the sheet. The windows were left closed, and thus the whisper of the spring breeze and the sound of outside world were tuned out. The sky was provisionally painted in ash-color and the sun had hidden itself since noon, signifying the incoming episodes of fleeting rain. Although it was supposed to be the beginning of spring, the cold of winter still occasionally lingered once the light drizzle came down.

His hand swiftly moved on the document, signing the papers leisurely although the tips of his fingers were freezing cold despite the blanket on his lap. Munakata always had a problem in adjusting his body temperature with chill air, but he couldn’t let such trivial reason to disrupt his work momentum.

Seri stood straight, watching him cautiously for any hint of fatigue while trying not to inadvertently insult him as if he was frail enough to be the subject of her constant worry. Munakata felt the stare, but he said nothing and pretended not to realize it. After he signed the last document, he heaved a sigh and smiled at her appreciatively. “Thank you for bringing in these papers, Awashima.”

“It’s my job.” She replied curtly, although she continued warily, “Captain, with utmost respect, I believe that you just had your rehabilitation session this morning. You should get some rest.”

“I would like to finish the postponed work after one year delay as soon as possible. I also take some rest once in a while, so please don’t worry about me.” He folded his hands on his desk, still smiling. “Is there anything else that requires my immediate attention?”

“No, Sir.” Seri quickly bowed at him before she took her cue to leave his office.

Munakata watched at her retreating back before he gazed out at the vibrant view through the window. At the garden of Scepter4 HQ, several trees had budded and green leaves had begun to peek out of the branches. He took a deep inhale, trying to get rid the accumulating fatigue and waves of exhaustion he had always suffered after rehabilitation therapy. He moved away from his desk to windowsill by pushing his wheelchair with his hands and stared out at the murky sky.

It had been a month since he was discharged from hospital. He remembered that a certain Red King never failed to visit him daily since he woke up with jumbled memories until he left the hospital. In a month, he had an intense rehabilitation program in order to get him fully functional as soon as possible, but it was only a week ago since he started to remember most of important things in his past.

He recalled almost everything last week, including the alternative future before Akizuki came to him. He had read the letter that the strain had left for him, saying that he was sorry for taking him down to hell to tamper with written future. He apologized for leaving ahead and wished him a better future, regardless the result. Munakata was rendered speechless; never once he regretted his decision, although it led him to his current state. How much he wished to tell the latter that there was no need for him to feel sorry for the Blue King or even regret to involve him in this twisted game of destiny. If time had allowed him, he would even personally express gratitude the strain for the opportunity. That was the only regret he had for certain azure-haired strain.

If he had to measure the benefit from the world’s point of view, he would gladly pay the same price all over again although the rest of the kings would say that he was a fool. He was not going to argue it though. He had no self-depreciation or heroic intention. He simply measured everything on the scale and all the sacrifices that had been made to reach this conclusion, including his own definitely worth it. The Red King was alive, and so was the first and Silver King. The Colorless King was gone (although the credit definitely went to Silver, Gold and Red King). He was still breathing, despite the disability and constant pain he had to live with for a while. He and Akizuki were the prime sinners for cheating the fate, thus it was natural if they had to sacrifice more than the rest. Even Totsuka was alive to keep the serenity of Mikoto’s fire and Shizume City was left in harmony. With Silver King and Gold King around, the other clans seemed to quiet down, and remained underground, lurking in the shadow with their eyes remained locked on the hidden Dresden Slate in Gold King’s residence. The price was certainly appropriate for the peace of Shizume City.

Everything seemed to settle back to normal, except for one thing. Ever since he woke up, Mikoto seemed to differ to the one he had always remembered. He still spoke less, spontaneously acted and behaved recklessly. But what troubled him were Mikoto’s affectionate gestures that easily escaped his attention; every straight, meaningful gaze, every little brush of skin, every impulsive butterfly kisses on his blue locks or his fingers.

Mikoto seemed not to be bothered by his constant change of behavior every time he recalled a bit of his identity and thus his personality, chalking it off as the result of amnesia, he said. Mikoto might easily accept him and his circumstances, but the Blue King could not figure out on how to treat Mikoto. The old Mikoto he remembered was ignorant and if he had to explain him in one word, he would never use the word such as ‘kind’ or ‘attentive’. But that was exactly what made their relationship so easy to follow, and he definitely felt convenient that way. No expectation meant no broken promises, no broken heart and definitely no hope. It was better for them to have no attachment, considering their roles as Kings. He only chased after Mikoto this time, only to stop and save him, not to breach the convenient lover’s line.

Back then, they concealed their infatuation, pretending ignorance so they could continue their nameless relationship although deep down, both of them knew perfectly the sparks between them. None of them spoke of it, as if it was a taboo. Once it was spoken, only Heaven knew who would break the arrangement first. Thus he was baffled; of the bond that Mikoto asked from him now. It was not as if he never thought of such thing, but he always dismissed it before the idea could settle in longer than a second. A King did not need another burden to carry aside from the world and he did not plan to change how he had lived. He had always thought that Suoh shared the same sentiment.

Selfish it might be, but he had no more room to grow affection other than for his Clansmen and the whole world. Even shouldering the world had already burdened his life; he almost lost his entire life for twisting Mikoto’s fate. Munakata was not certain he could get out from the mess unscathed, or worse, alive if he continued to meddle with an existence called the Red King.

However, Mikoto never ceased to confuse him. The very same man that had abandoned him in the solitary path of King as he drowned in his misery and fury and even thrust the saber into his hands to deliver the end of his life, told him that he loved him and wished to be with him. Munakata found it remarkably ironic that it was beyond preposterous.

He would not hesitate to embrace the memories which consisted of glorious death of Red King and his bitterness as the executioner, but in consequence, he could not accept Mikoto’s affection. If anything he had done to Munakata was in parallel with something called ‘love’ (the sound of it felt weird on his tongue that he almost choked on it), then that emotion was definitely mixed with insanity.

For that reason, he steered clear from Mikoto for a whole week. He left calls unanswered, and messages unread and deleted without second thought. The Blue King stayed away from every place he used to visit, knowing it well that Mikoto would purposely attempt to counter him there. He intentionally went to rehabilitation with randomized session schedule, so Mikoto would have no chance to know when he would go. The only place he went aside the hospital was simply his apartment and Scepter 4 HQ, although he spent majority of his time in the HQ. It was not as if he could go anywhere else with his handicap to walk around freely. Even such a thick-headed like Mikoto would realize that Munakata deliberately eluded him and he rejected Mikoto’s feeling.

They had no relationship to begin with, so it would be awkward if he called the latter to break off whatever they currently had; more than friendship, less than lovers. Thus, he concluded that silence was the best answer.

This time he would not repeat the same mistake. The Blue King would no longer relate himself in intimate level with Red King. Once they had gone separated ways, he would surely forget those glimmering golden eyes. His heart would no longer be swayed and the balance would be once again restored.

But Mikoto was not one to agree with him or quietly step down without retaliation. On the third day of his silent treatment, Homra purposely conflicted with a group of well-known mafia that wittingly dared to have illegal business in Homra’s alleged district. The Red King personally made his appearance and even summoned his Sword of Damocles as an unspoken threat and invitation for Munakata. However, he never made his appearance, even though it cost him a bulky file of damaged public property he had to take responsibility of. Thankfully, the Gold King was being lenient with him, putting his limited capacity for mobility into consideration and thus excused him only with a short lecture of responsibility. Nevertheless, he knew that he would not get away easily from his obligation next time.

Fortunately, that day onward, he was left in peace. He only hoped that it was not a transitory peace before the storm.

Munakata leant back and slightly slouched on his wheelchair. It was almost time for him and his Clansmen to leave the office. He had been cooped up in the HQ for so long that he now wished to go outside and feel first-handedly the gentle touch of spring breeze and warmth of setting sun on his skin. After all, his doctors had instructed him to keep being active as much as he could to keep up his health.

He pushed his wheelchair with his hands at ease, as the result of his intense rehabilitation. Munakata pushed open the mahogany door to leave his office, only to find Akiyama nearly bumped into him while he was walking in the hallway in front of Munakata’s office. The latter jolted in surprise but he quickly moved away from Munakata’s way with a smile.

“Good evening, Captain. Are you leaving now? Would you like me to escort you?”

“Thank you for your good work, Akiyama.” Munakata said with his usual smile. “And no, it’s okay. I only retire to the dorm, no need to accompany me. You should go home.”

“No, it would be my pleasure to escort you, if you don’t mind.”

He waved his hand nonchalantly, laughing it off. “Babysitting is not in your job description, Akiyama. But I appreciate the thought.”

The raven-haired officer then bowed slightly, “In that case, please be careful on your way, Captain.”

“Have a good evening.” He wheeled his chair with a little smile through the bright corridor.

When he returned to his office for the first time, he felt self-conscious and uncomfortable at the thought that his Clansmen might look at him with pity since he had to spend most of his time on wheel chair before he could switch to crutches. The doctor told him that one year-long bedrest caused his condition. Despite the passive rehabilitation they had poured on him, his muscles were weakening due to prolonged unused, especially his legs and he would be required to keep continuing his exhausting rehabilitation at least for half a year before they could reevaluate him again. He felt exasperated at first, since such handicap would hinder him from his work. But then, he would only sigh and resign to his fate. He brought this upon himself after all. If anything, he was thankful that he still had a hope to be completely independent from this transportable chair.

The next thing he was thankful was, his Clansmen seemed to be glad with his return that none of them even bothered to shower him with pity. They were being extra careful with him, yes, but their concern was still in tolerable level in Munakata’s book. Even Domyoji occasionally offered to push his chair as he was leaving his office, and being persistent about it when he refused politely, leaving him with no choice but to let his hard-headed subordinate to do whatever he wanted. But never once Domyoji looked at him as an unfortunate person. He actually felt glad with their compassion. Just like this moment when he went across the corridor, the passing Clansmen would offer him a short greeting and a genuine smile as they stepped away to keep his path clear just like before. He would return the greetings and went on.

After a long way with polite bows and smiles, he finally found himself alone on the connecting corridor facing toward garden which also led to the dorm. He stopped for a moment, watching at the sunlight reflected on the streaming water from the fountain in the middle of the garden. The water sparkled in golden light, with a refraction of rainbow next to it. The trees rustles softly as the wind gently blew and swayed his sapphire-colored shortened side bangs. The smell of soil and grass was on the air, foretelling the imminent rain.

It was the very picture of tranquility he always wished for ever since the fall of Red King. At last he could breathe without the constant dull pain in his chest.  
  


* * *

 

He was taking his time to return to the dorm, strolling around the garden until twilight. There was nothing waiting for him in that room; no need for him to rush. However, when Munakata lifted his keycard to the lock device, the first he noticed was the burnt smell and the broken, fried device. Even before he opened the door, he could sense the unwelcomed presence inside the compartment. He frowned, while completely alert. There was only one person he could think of that was capable of such atrocious tampering.

Munakata quickly turned around, completely annoyed and was about to steer back to his office when the door suddenly swung open and the last person he wished to see was standing on the doorway.

“Finally you’re back.” Mikoto stiffly greeted with a dark look looming on his face. It did not take a second to tell that the Red King was in his worst mood. Munakata’s instinct conflicted, telling him to scram before Mikoto could hit him (although Mikoto began to restrain his Aura, it didn’t mean that he was less violent with his punch) or to fight him back like usual with his sarcasm. While he was in disadvantage since he could not use his saber, he still had Blue Aura to encounter Mikoto on par without his Red Aura.

Munakata gave a scandalized look to his intruder. The blue-haired king remained still for a while while his hostility instinct already overrode his mind. “For hundred times, I told you not to come here right? Is your brain just an accessory?”

Mikoto did not even bother to be offended. Seeing that the owner did not intend to enter with his presence there, the Red King strode to behind Munakata’s chair. Before Munakata could even voice out his protest, Mikoto hastily pushed him into the dorm and closed the door behind Munakata with a hard slam.

“Suoh!” Munakata snapped as his violet eyes glinted fiercely, following Mikoto’s presence.

However, Mikoto ignored him and grabbed Munakata’s head sides until they faced each other. The Blue King glared, and the Red King impassively frowned. Munakata scowled under his breath, trying to contain his irritation. “Get out.”

“No,” Mikoto growled in cold fury.

“I can always force you.” He threatened with a low snarl, like a beast being territorial of its den.

Mikoto sighed and bowed to get into Munakata’s eye level with his hands on the Blue King’s cheeks, pressing against them tightly. “Stop running away, Munakata.”

“Don’t insult me. Why should I?”

“You didn’t come down to the city even when I ‘called’ you. You shut yourself in this place all the time. For a whole damn week.” Mikoto answered, emphasizing his every word with a little jerk on Munakata’s face sides. “Now look at me and tell me that you’re not running away.”

Munakata stared back with cold defiance, already answering Mikoto’s taunt sternly. “I don’t run away. You sicken me, and it’s within my right to choose not to see your face.”

“Does it now? Back in the hospital, you seemed to enjoy my companion.” Mikoto smirked arrogantly, savoring his victory when Munakata stiffened with ashamed look. The Blue King was apparently infuriated with himself as he recalled the embarrassing moments when he obliviously depended on Mikoto during his confinement on hospital bed with vague memories.

When Munakata was defensive, he was more hostile, but Mikoto needed that resentment out of him. He intentionally provoked Munakata to get a response from him before the conflict between them fell into a cold war. Silence treatment was Munakata’s virtue. Once Mikoto was doomed with silent warfare, he would have to draw out the heat in Munakata again and it was not an easy feat.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Munakata barked heatedly. “Don’t you feel ashamed of taking advantage of amnesic patient?”

“Does that mean that you remember everything by now?” Mikoto asked with atypical concern, to Munakata’s bafflement. Somehow Mikoto’s grip slightly loosened although they were still in place to keep him still.

Munakata heaved a sigh and breathed away, “Yes. Now would you kindly relea-”

“So is it true that you turn back the time with that strain’s help?” Mikoto interjected before the Blue King could finish his sentence. Suddenly Munakata forgot how to breathe as he froze, “What?”

“A strain came to me after your ‘accident’. He told me your deal with him and everything of it.”

Munakata instinctively shuddered at the thought of Mikoto figuring out his reason for taking a part on such precarious gamble. He was furious at Akizuki for spilling their secret and thus putting him in this situation, but it was futile to condemn a dead person. There was no need for Mikoto to realize his affection to a certain Red King. It would ruin the balance he had tried so hard to maintain.

Mikoto was quite surprised when Munakata abruptly slapped his hands away violently and those violet eyes narrowed at him with unspeakable fury, like a wounded animal. Apparently he underestimated the Blue King, considering his current state. The red marks on his hands stung a lot. “Whatever I did with him has nothing to do with you. Get out.”

Mikoto frowned as annoyance began to swell inside him. He did want to make Munakata responding to him, even if he had to be verbally violent, but Mikoto did not like it when the latter dismissed him and kept him stranded in the middle of nowhere. Before Mikoto could think over his action, his arms already reached out for Munakata, grabbed him on the waist and dragged him out of his wheelchair. He carried the flailing, rebellious blue-haired king over his shoulder, ignoring the vocal assault and continuous, painful thumps and scratches on his back. “Suoh! Cease this behavior this instant!”

Munakata yelped in pain when the Red King tossed him to the bed heartlessly. He groaned and automatically rubbed the aching back of his head as he pushed himself off the bed. “You barbarian…” He blinked in surprise when Mikoto pushed him down again forcefully with his hands on Munakata’s head sides and hovered on top of him with ominous look. But Munakata was not one to feel intimidated. As a matter of fact, Mikoto wounded his pride by taking advantage over his lower extremities weakness and Munakata was enraged for it. “Suoh, get off of me.” He threatened severely, already taking a full fist of Mikoto’s shirt ferociously and pushing him away. But Mikoto grabbed his hand on the wrist and retracted it away firmly as they both resisted with all their strength. Munakata swore there would be an ugly purple bruise around his wrist tomorrow morning.

“You are helpless without your wheelchair, can you?” Mikoto replied callously, losing his usual mischievous smile. “You’ll stay here until I’m done with you.”

His amethyst eyes widened in surprise, already brimming with hurt and offended pride. “Suoh, I won’t forgive you for insulting me like this.”

“What makes you think I care?” With that, Mikoto dived and bit down Munakata’s upper throat. He used his weight to pin Munakata down while his hand reached out for Munakata’s cravat and tore it off.

The Blue King started resisting and switching back and forth between panic and rage. “Suoh! Damn you, stop this!” His hands gripped tightly on Mikoto’s shoulders, purposely bruising the skin with his nails until it left angry marks as he pushed away the latter. Nevertheless, his effort was futile since Mikoto took advantage of the gravity and their position to imprison him. A sense of vulnerability sunk in and a tear of humiliation threatened to fall from the edge of his eyes. With his collar left bared, Mikoto didn’t hold back from biting and sucking the skin, leaving marks on his trail that Munakata would not be able to cover all of them later on. Munakata lost all of his composure when Mikoto’s hand traveled down to his stomach and continued down to front of his pants.

“ _SUOH!_ ” A loud strike between surfaces rang in the room.

Munakata’s palm hurt as if it was burnt. Mikoto remained still, with his cheek throbbed painfully, avoiding the accusing, upset glare at him.

The Red King suddenly felt an immense guilt for thoughtlessly humiliating Munakata. The one that he had decided not to hurt, defensively crossed his arms to cover his eyes as if the sight of Mikoto was unbearable. Mikoto was about to open his mouth to apologize when a silver bead streaked down to Munakata’s cheek.

“…Despicable.” Munakata scorned hatefully. “You bastard.”

Mikoto winced at the vile remark. He pulled back slightly, tugging on Munakata’s wrists gently as he settled on top of Munakata’s stomach, trying to pry open the shield before Munakata’s eyes lightly. “Munakata.”

“Don’t touch me.”

“Munakata.” Mikoto repeated with harder voice with warning, but not enough to reprimand. “…I’m sorry.”

A flinch of Munakata’s arms gave him the hint he needed. He tried again to unfasten Munakata’s hands and this time he faced no resistance, although the latter still refused to see him in the eyes by looking away at the wall with fierce glare. But the tear was gone. The only thing remained in those tempestuous, purple eyes was loathing.

“Get off.” Munakata seethed almost like a whisper. Mikoto quietly obeyed and sat on the edge of the bed, still facing the owner of the room.

“Munakata,” Mikoto tried carefully, hesitantly stretched out his hand to touch Munakata’s chin. However, before he could even get close, the Blue King slapped away his hand mercilessly.

“Yes, I can’t move without that damn wheelchair. But that doesn’t mean I can’t kill you right here.”

“You can’t.”

“…Excuse me?”

Mikoto heaved a sigh, “What happens to you is because you can’t let me die. I know at least this much.”

Munakata wrinkled his nose in half-annoyance. “Don’t think too high of yourself. I might only wish to save the Silver King, mind you.”

“Nah, if it was true, you wouldn’t bother to save Tatara.”

The Blue King was quiet for a moment with a deep frown. If they were not arguing right now, Mikoto would have laughed because he looked almost like pouting. “Maybe I just whimsically tried to rescue him since I already returned back to the past anyway.”

“Nope, too much risk for a whim. You certainly wouldn’t jeopardize it.”

“Maybe it’s just-“ Mikoto just decided that Munakata would never shut up if he allowed him, so he leant forward and captured those lips to take his breath away. Munakata did not close his eyes, but his gaze softened and kissed back slowly. This time he allowed Mikoto’s arm to circle around his nape and pulled him closer to deepen the kiss. Mikoto took the lack of resistance as a willing gesture and swiftly he lowered both of them until Munakata was sprawled on his back again without breaking the kiss.

When the need for air became unbearable, they separated only slightly, letting their hot breathes to mingle with each other. Mikoto smiled down, this time genuinely, to Munakata’s surprise. “Thank you. And I’m sorry.”

His chest felt like constricting in pain and there was a throbbing dull ache from inside. Munakata finally managed to ask, “For what?”

“For saving Tatara and my lives. For staying alive. And sorry for leaving the hard works to you.”

Munakata felt like there was a lump on his throat. “I failed to kill Colorless King. You did it yourself, along with Silver and Gold Kings, I heard.”

Mikoto shook his head with a bitter smile. “I’m talking about other future. The strain told me that you probably the one who ended my life when my Sword of Damocles fell.”

The Red King didn’t need words to confirm his notion. Munakata flinched and instinctively curled up, as if trying to wipe away the appalling memories and protect himself from self-guilt. Mikoto felt a twinge of pain when he heard Munakata asked in hushed voice, strangled like a faint sob, “Are you done? The exit is that way.”

“Munakata, look at me.”

When the Blue King ignored the plea, Mikoto put his hand on Munakata’s chin and lifted up his face until their eyes met each other. “I’m sorry. I probably couldn’t think of anyone else but you to kill me when the time comes.”

“And am I supposed to say to accept your apology and we’re even?” Munakata snapped, seething. “No, Suoh, I’ll never forgive you, or else I’ll never forgive myself. That’s why I keep the distance, you insensitive fool. I’m done being involved with you.”

“Guess what? I can’t accept that as well. You keep me alive, so you have to take responsibility for it.”

“Since when is your life my responsibility? You always belong to Homra, that’s why you refuse to back down from your status as a king and force me to kill you. Don’t throw it to me when it’s inconvenient to you.” Munakata let out a feral scowl. “All I’m responsible is the price for not letting you go.”

“Yeah, since you chain me back to this life, it’s natural that you should be responsible for this additional time you give me.”

Munakata held his breath and a swirl of new storm waged in those violet eyes. “I can’t believe you. You’re blaming me for keeping you alive?!” The Blue King yelled, raising his voice. “Then drop dead! See if I care.”

Mikoto swore that there was a vein popped out from his head. Munakata was always skeptical anything related to him and it annoyed him to no end. He only wanted to tell him that the Blue King should stay alive since he was Mikoto’s new reason to live on, and apparently Munakata took it the wrong way. The Red King exhaled an exasperated sigh angrily before he pushed Munakata down again on the bed sheet when the latter tried to break free from his captivity. “Why are you so-“ Mikoto groaned in frustration and cursed, “All I want to say is I love you and I want you to give us a chance, you fool! Why are you angry?”

“You should say the last one instead; simple and direct! How can you expect me to understand your irrational rant?!” Munakata defensively yelled back, fighting off Mikoto’s grip on his shoulder to no avail.

“Fine! I love you! So what is your answer?”

Their heated brawl quickly ceased down into a stretched silence as if someone had doused a bucket of ice. Munakata seemed to be busy messing with his brain, trying to come up with wiser response. Mikoto was left stranded waiting for an answer which never came.

“Do you really expect me to believe that?” Munakata whispered, but his reproachful eyes stared straight into the golden ones. “Didn’t you realize that when you forced me to kill you, there was nothing left between us? The nightmares turn from occasional to constant, thanks to your so-called _love_.” He took pleasure when Mikoto’s expression contorted in hurt. Just as he expected, Mikoto did not think twice about him back then, although this Mikoto probably didn’t have the opportunity for thinking about it since Munakata saved him from that trouble. He probably did not know there was no night when Munakata could sleep without nightmares. The horrifying dream always switched between the moments he stabbed Suoh with his sword and dirtied his hands with scarlet blood and an infinite isolation as the tower of ice hovered over him and froze him to death slowly from his feet as the ice crawled to freeze all over Shizume City before his eyes with lightning struck in the background. Even he still could see such image behind his closed eyes. “Don’t speak about love with that mouth. You will blight it.”

Mikoto was surprised with the blatant pained expression on Munakata’s face. He understood the dread of those nightmares since there were some nights when he dreamt of a raging inferno which licked and burned everything down to dust. Thus he should have understood Munakata’s burden, but somehow Munakata’s pain seemed to be different. He felt like he had to say something, or else he would lose the Blue King permanently.

“I don’t know how the past me has wronged you. I can only say for the current me that I love you and I’ve always loved you.”

Munakata sighed in resignation, deciding to pull out his trump card. “Are you sure you’re not mistaking that feeling with someone else?”

Mikoto only raised an eyebrow questioningly, to Munakata’s irritation. The blue-haired king took a deep inhale before he said, “When Totsuka died in the other future, you seemed not to hesitate to push me aside. I don’t see a reason why you would act differently this time if that happens.”

“Don’t speak in circle. What are you trying to say?” Mikoto growled, already feeling the dread sinking into the pit of his stomach.

“Do I really have to spill everything out for you? You’ve always loved him, probably even when we share the same bed.” Munakata thought he would feel relieved with being able to spill out his suspicion, but in contrary, he only felt wretched inside. Thinking about it did not hurt as much as speaking it out loud.

However, Mikoto still looked passive, as if he didn’t hear it, to Munakata’s marvel. He said pensively after a moment of awkward silence. “I have three points to tell you. One, I don’t mess up with that kid. Two, I don’t kiss that kid. Three, I did both to you instead. And before you say stupid things again, when I saw you lying half-dead, believe or not, I was going to repeat the history again.”

“But that doesn’t make sense…” Munakata trailed off and Mikoto abruptly interrupted the train of his thought, arguing heatedly. “ _Your_ imagination doesn’t make sense. He is a family. You are insulting Homra’s bond.”

Munakata gaped, almost like a goldfish, wanting to say something only to clamp down his lips since he couldn’t come up with anything. Mikoto actually found it endearing, but he wouldn’t say a thing because he didn’t wish to earn another long series of Munakata’s wrath. Thus, he only came up asking one word, “So?”

The Blue King bit down his lower lip, not realizing that he was pouting. Mikoto had to resist not pawing him. “I still think it’s a bad idea to get involved with you. I can’t forgive you, after all.”

Mikoto crossed his arms, trying to keep his patience in check, “But?”

“What makes you think there is a ‘but’?”

“Just an instinct.”

“No, there isn’t.” After a short pause and an expectant look, he continued, “Really, there isn’t!”

“There is.”

“There isn’t! Look, Suoh, you can’t be serious about this. You understand, right? The sparks between Kings will prickle us into fighting each other. That’s why you’ve never pursued a relationship with me before, because we might lose temperance and destroy what we are trying to protect.” Munakata extended his hands to cradle Mikoto’s face carefully. The Red King leant into the touch like a cat with his eyes still locked on Munakata’s.

“Yeah, but now I think it’s stupid. When we were apart, the spark was gone, but there was this craving. It drives worse ignition on our next meeting.”

“…Meaning?”

“I think you can tone down the spark, if you stay with me.”

They stayed silent for a minute before Munakata decided to break the stillness between them. “Are you saying that by exposing yourself to that spark constantly, it might numb your senses to it?”

Mikoto shrugged nonchalantly, saying calmly as he remained hovering on top of Munakata, “I dunno. We’ve never tried it and I happen to want you. Definitely worth the shot.”

“I don’t want to bet on anything anymore.”

Mikoto tried again, smirking mischievously this time. “If it works, that means less work for you and you can even keep a watch on me easily. You sure you don’t want to try this out?” He understood that it was easier to win the current Blue King over using his sense of duty, instead of sweet talks. As he expected, Munakata already reconsidered the proposal.

To his relief, it didn’t take another night to convince Munakata. The blue-haired king gazed up at him with a resolution and a warning, although there was still a soft frown on his face. “If ‘this’ doesn’t work out or the spark gets out of hands, I’ll call off the whole thing.”

“Yeah,” Mikoto breathed as he nodded in agreement, smiling genuinely. “I’m okay with it.” His legs dug deeper into the bed and he shifted closer to Munakata to plant another kiss on the lips. This time, Munakata didn’t resist it. After several seconds, he decided to be done with it and intertwined his arms around Mikoto’s neck, pulling him down and kissing back. He swore he felt a smile against his lips before he opened his mouth to allow Mikoto to deepen the kiss. Mikoto had tasted like how he always remembered him, a whiff of tobacco, ember, and sunlight but the memories seemed quite distant by now.

Mikoto gladly took the offer and dove to trail every crevice on Munakata’s mouth with his tongue. They softly moaned with tiny sighs, although they only distantly realized the sounds they were making. Mikoto occasionally pulled back a little to let them breathe, but not long enough to even recover from short of breath. Eventually they broke apart, and Mikoto ducked his head to nip and lick under Munakata’s chin, earning him a gasp from Munakata. The Blue King petted the soft hair near Mikoto’s nape, making Mikoto slightly shuddering with a pleased hum against his throat.

Munakata scowled at the heat pooling in his stomach and commanded, “Take off your shirt.” Mikoto stopped abruptly from leaving marks on Munakata’s collarbone and grinned at the order, “As you wish.” He swiftly pulled the shirt off and tossed it away on the floor. “Let’s play fair, shall we?”

Those violet eyes were glazed with desire when Mikoto made a quick work on his uniform proficiently and in a minute, there was a heap of clothes next to the bed while the couple on the bed was left down to bare skin. Munakata yelped in surprise when Mikoto pulled up his leg, dragging him down slightly to leave butterfly kisses on the calf. Mikoto whispered faintly against his skin but he could not hear it clearly so he asked, “What?”

This time Mikoto said with louder voice, still kissing his leg. “I’m sorry.” But this time, Munakata understood without saying. His gaze softened as he tried to tell Mikoto off, “Stop that. Get down from your pedestal and stop thinking that everything is your fault, because it doesn’t. I just had an accident; as simple as that. Moreover, they say the rehabilitation is going well.”

Mikoto hummed lightly before he trailed kisses on the inner thigh, drawing out a faint gasp from the latter. He made a mental note to pry on the incident that cause Munakata’s and Totsuka’s demise, but his curiosity could wait until the next morning. He had more urgent matter to take care of, after all. “I’ll come along next time you go to the hospital.” He said with a smirk while his hand strayed to draw circles on Munakata’s inner thigh teasingly. Munakata replied silently with a wary look, so Mikoto purposely brushed his palm on Munakata’s cock, noting his victory in his mind for eliciting moans from the latter.

“You…,” Munakata tried to keep down his moans by pressing the back of his hand against his mouth, ending up with strangled voice. “…are going to be in the way. I can’t allow that.” To his dismay, Mikoto started to stroke his cock, still asking with feigned innocence. “I won’t. How is that?”

He was about to reject it on Mikoto’s face when a thumb rubbed the slit and his mind went blank instantly. “W-what?” Munakata attempted to ask in between of his suppressed moans. As a matter of fact, he already forgot the original question was. He knew that Mikoto was playing dirty, but he would have no choice but to agree in the end to whatever it was because the blessed hand of a certain Red King already messed up his head.

Mikoto leant down again and kissed on Munakata’s hand on top of his lips, requesting for an access. Munakata willingly obliged, allowing the latter to swallow his moans into his mouth. Mikoto picked up the pace stroking the shaft and alternately rubbing the slit with a devilish smirk. “What do you think? Can I come?”

Munakata breathed out, “Yes.” However, after several passing seconds, he thought over with tremendous difficulty in the middle of haze, realizing that he was probably being deceived. “W-wait, what was the question?”

“Nothing.” Mikoto grinned victoriously before he claimed a kiss again. Munakata made a noise of complaint, but soon he failed to remember that he just had been tricked into consenting something troublesome as Mikoto’s hand picked up the speed, up and down Munakata’s cock. He was already on losing ground in holding back his voice. He almost reeled over the edge when Mikoto’s hand stopped moving and pecked a kiss on his lips, before the latter moved aside to reach out for top drawer of the nightstand desk. Munakata only watched in daze, when Mikoto pulled off the lube’s cap and poured the content into his hand.

Mikoto turned around to face Munakata and stole another kiss before he gave a look, asking for his permission. Munakata didn’t answer but he grabbed Mikoto’s arms and pulled him down to get him another kiss. The red-haired king chuckled lightly before he lowered his head to reward Munakata with gentle bites on his nipple when his fingers already prodded on the entrance.

It definitely felt tighter with two fingers sliding in. Mikoto spent extra time fingering Munakata, rubbing against his prostate teasingly. He winced when Munakata bit down his moan and took full fists of his scarlet hair unconsciously with arched back, and the tug became tighter when he inserted the third finger. By the time he finished preparing Munakata, the latter was panting hard with eyes glazed with tears and his favorite vermillion color had rose up to the Blue King’s cheeks. Mikoto was positively satisfied with the pleasurable sight in front of him. He would gladly mess him up more than this.

Mikoto lifted both Munakata’s lithe, limp legs above his shoulders to give him some room to work. Munakata clenched his fists on the white sheet as Mikoto slowly entered him and the foreign feeling he could not really name returned back like a déjà vu. It had been a while and the sensation made him clenching the muscle, tightening around Mikoto’s cock with a soft whimper. Mikoto groaned with harsh pant, trying to refocus his attention to enter Munakata as he brushed away the tears pooling on the corner of those amethyst eyes, “Hey, relax. Keep breathing.”

Munakata forced out a sarcastic scoff but he relaxed down until Mikoto was fully buried to the hilt. He was about to exhale in relief when Mikoto suddenly moved and slammed into him, drawing a surprised cry out of him. Mikoto didn’t spare him even a second to raise a protest for moving so abruptly and start picking up the pace. He smirked with deep furrowed brows as Munakata moved his hips with continuous string of heavy pants and moans, blending in with his own groans into a chorus they hardly listened.

Munakata was already on the edge that it didn’t take long before he came with a suppressed scream of Mikoto’s name. Not long after he slumped on the bed, completely spent, he could feel the heat of Mikoto coming inside him and hear a long grunt from his partner that almost sounded like his name. In the middle of his daze, he could make out the hard frown on Mikoto’s feature as he came and the paradoxical trustful childlike-eyes staring back at him up close. Those fierce amber eyes shone with so many emotions, including guilt, but they mostly reflected irrefutable confidence and fondness.

Winded, Mikoto laughed breathlessly above him, making him staring back quizzically, “What?”

The red-haired king only shook his head and leant down to leave fleeting, playful kisses as he quietly said, half brooding, “No, I’m just glad that I only have to wait for a year for this.”

Munakata remained silent, smiling vaguely bitter, to Mikoto’s bemusement. He stretched out his arms and pulled Mikoto down again into his embrace. The Red King lied on his side next to Munakata, not wanting to fully impose him with his weight as he nestled his head on Munakata’s shoulder, kissing lightly on the junction of his neck and shoulder. As a response, he felt Munakata kissing his hair and breathing warmly close to his ear. Mikoto realized that they should have probably cleaned up, but he was quite comfortable enough to even move away from this position. He would not mind staying that way all night as long as Munakata didn’t object.

Mikoto already drifted to a momentary sleep when Munakata started timidly in a very soft voice, barely heard, while he stared up at the ceiling, “All those times in the past, when your Sword of Damocles crumbled down, I didn’t even try to understand you, but blaming you for not giving up your desire for revenge or stepping down from your status. Avenging Totsuka is probably a humane thing for you and Homra, but my duty demands me not to justify your action.”

“Muna-“

“I’m sorry.” Munakata abruptly interrupted, accentuating his voice although he still refused to look the latter on the eyes. “I think all Kings fear death. But what we are afraid of is not the death itself, but the consequences following. After I killed you, I couldn’t help but thinking who will bring the end for me. What if my candidates couldn’t make it in time to end my life when my Sword of Damocles fell and it caused another Kagutsu Crater? Only then I realized, you probably didn’t wish to be saved, because you were afraid that I failed to be there when the time came and you ended up obliterating everything.”

Mikoto rose up, using his arms as a leverage as he lifted his body off the bed, and his head hovered above Munakata to get his attention with a darkened face. “You have nothing to feel sorry about.” He took Munakata’s hand into his and brought it up to his lips, “I’m the one who should apologize for breaking your Sword of Damocles.”

Munakata faintly nodded and smiled delicately, “But I want you to trust me. You have my words, I will end your life personally when the time comes without fail, so promise me to value your life until the last second of it as long as I’m alive.”

“Would you just stop using your life to save me?” Mikoto growled threateningly, to Munakata’s surprise. “Look, can we just not talk about it?”

“Sooner or later, we’ll have to face this issue in the end, Suoh. You can’t avoid it forever.”

Mikoto narrowed his eyes on the Blue King, but said nothing. He straightened up, while pulling the latter up as he leant backward. When Munakata was already sitting on the edge of the bed with puzzled look, Mikoto scooped him up in a far-from graceful manner in his arms, climbed off the bed and headed to the bathroom. Munakata automatically looped his arms around Mikoto’s neck for balance. Mikoto kicked open the bathroom door nonchalantly with annoyed tone, “We’ll face it when we have to, but not now.”

The blue-haired king sighed resignedly, “You are like an immature child.”

Mikoto wrinkled his nose at that and sneered disdainfully, “and you’re acting like an old man. Now just shut up.”  
  


* * *

 

The hospital lobby was nearly crowded, full with awaiting patients and families. At the corner, a private elevator had just reached the floor where the lobby was located with a tiny ‘ _ding_ ’ sound.

“I can’t believe you that you would even bring her here.” Munakata rolled his eyes as he pushed his wheelchair out of the elevator, leaving the red-haired king behind him without a glance. “I forbid you from coming along, and now you even bring her? Healthy children are not allowed here, Suoh.”

Anna trotted behind Mikoto, tugging on the edge of his jacket with guilty look. However, Mikoto patted her head lightly with soft smile before following the frustrated Blue King. “You told me that I could come and she wishes to come along.”

Munakata halted immediately and turned around on his chair with glowering, murderous look. “ _I didn’t_. You tricked me, as a matter of fact.”

“I’m sorry if I’m bothering you…” Anna casted down her eyes to stare on her shoes.

Munakata threw a long glare at Mikoto, who in return looked at him accusingly. He turned around until he was in front of the little silver-haired strain. His expression immediately softened as he heaved a sigh. When he was sitting on the chair and Anna standing in front of him, they were on the same eye-level. He just hoped that it would make her less intimidated or frightened of him. “I’m not angry with you. I just have to reprimand this irresponsible adult,” He paused, glaring with clear irritation at the Red King. “...for bringing a child to this place, filled with sick people and putting you at risk of getting sick.”

“I ask Mikoto to let me come, because I’ve always wanted to say thank you for saving Tatara.” She locked her twinkling ruby eyes at him and he could only be mesmerized at her purity reflected in her eyes. She bowed lightly before him with a little smile, “Tatara also asks me to pass his gratitude to you. He wants to tell you personally, but Izumo asks him to watch the bar. We’ve always wanted to say it earlier, but we decide to wait until you remember.”

His violet eyes were widened in astonishment. Never once he expected some gratitude from Homra since everything he had done was within the boundary line of his duty and it was all for his own gain. Furthermore, the Red Clan had always been in conflict with Blue Clan since Scepter 4 often had to impose the law and order on them, causing a bad blood between these Clans. Even if he was currently in relationship with Mikoto, it supposedly didn’t change anything between their clans, since they kept professional and personal lives apart and they never announced it openly. Thus, the words of ‘thank you’ from Red Clan felt quite pleasant with all its surprise.

Nonetheless, they were Tatara and Anna, the kindest members of Homra, so probably it was not that startling. He pushed his eyeglasses up to the bridge of his nose with a tense smile. “You don’t have to. It’s Scepter 4 duty to guarantee the safety of the citizen.”

“But…” She trailed off, but Mikoto interjected. “He is just embarrassed.”

“I’m not! I’m just saying that-“

“Just shut up.” Mikoto sneered before he quickly got himself behind Munakata’s wheelchair and pushed him out of the hospital, ignoring Munakata’s outrage. Anna was stunned for a moment before she smiled softly and followed her beloved king. In her rose-colored eyes, today Mikoto’s red was brilliantly dazzling and beautiful, warmer than usual.

 

* * *

 

The bell on the door chimed lightly and a gust of warm breeze went inside.

Izumo lifted his eyes only to smile brightly on the special guest he had been expecting for a whole week. “Welcome, Seri. Quite a busy week, I guess?”

The corner of her lips quirked slightly up as she gracefully made her way to the bar stool. Once she sat on her usual seat, she rested her chin on her hand and sighed, “It will be a better week if Yatagarasu stops coming to see Fushimi on every field mission.”

“Well, he is young. I can’t exactly tell him not to go, can I?” The blond bartender chuckled apologetically and already prepared the crystal glass. “What would you like to have today?”

“You can easily say that because you’re not the one who has to stop them when they start fighting.” She heaved a little sigh. “I’ll just have the usual.”

Izumo was so used to her antic that there was no hint of distaste on his feature as he worked on her order mechanically. After so many times having her around, an alcohol drink combined with red bean paste didn’t seem so nauseating, as long as he wasn’t the one who had to taste it. “Then you have to help Yata; tell Fushimi to listen. You know that he has been trying so hard to fix their relationship, right?” He walked away not far from the bar table to pick up his special cooler box, specific for keeping the ingredients of Seri’s peculiar orders.

“I know. But he starts to blame Captain for allowing a civilian to meddle with our missions. Captain doesn’t defend himself and tell him to sort out his problem instead, so Fushimi’s temper only worsens. If it wasn’t Captain who told him off, the casualty list would be more than a broken chair, I’m sure.” Her azure, scrutinizing eyes followed every little moves of her favorite bartender.

Izumo’s hands flinched in the middle way, “Well, you definitely have a rough week.” This time he opened the box with firmer grip and took out a pack of red bean paste and returned back before Seri. He took out the paste and mixed it with the sparkling beverage in the glass until it turned into the horrifying color of lavender and pushed it in front of the fair blonde. “I thought your Captain will stay out of the problem like usual and let those kids to work out their own differences.”

“I thought so too.” Seri lifted the glass with her hand with newly-painted nails to her lips as she glanced up to Izumo with half-hearted glare. “But I have my suspicion that your king encourages him to help Yatagarasu.”

Izumo laughed weakly and shrugged, “But if it helps them to reconcile, it would be great. You said that he only listens to your Captain, although he rarely does. Anyway, how is Blue King?”

She took a sip of her drink and exhaled with pleasant sigh. “He is doing fine. Yesterday, he was finally out of the wheelchair and started using crutches. He is quite in pleasant mood today. I think he is quite thrilled about it.”

He propped his chin on his hand and smiled at her charmingly as he leant against the bar table. If the close distance between their faces bothered the lieutenant, she didn’t show it. “I hope that means you’ll have extra free time in your hand. I waited for you last weekend, but you didn’t come; it saddened me.” He said with a feigned hurt pout, putting his hand on his chest for a dramatic effect.

She fluttered her eyes close, completely unfazed, although she smiled impishly. “When I was too busy to come with Captain out of duty, you didn’t seem to miss me that much.”

“I’m simply an understanding gentleman, my fair lady, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t miss your companion.” Izumo grinned victoriously at a faint blush creeping into Seri’s cheeks as he took her hand in his. She knew that he was the master of flattery and extraordinarily fluent with words that she shouldn’t believe every word he spoke, but she definitely didn’t hate the attention. This sweet-like poison banter was their little game, their little guilty pleasure.

“Worry not, Kusanagi. You’re my favorite bartender so far, considering that only you could prepare my favorite drink, that is.”

He stiffened immediately at that although his smile didn’t falter. “You’re my most precious customer after all. But I still think red bean is not supposed to go with alcohol.”

 

* * *

 

The room atmosphere felt heavy, despite the empty space between them. Weismann sat on the pillow cushion with a cup of green tea in front of him. After a year, the Gold King’s residence had been fully restored to its original, majestic form. He had been hoping that his friend would at least attempt to change the design because it felt too formal and suffocating so he asked him, but the lieutenant only stared at him as if he had grown another head. The compartment was beautiful as the wall was repainted with the color of gold with the painting of cranes and pine trees in the lone winter, but the color didn’t help in creating tranquil ambience. Even the pillars were like the previous ones, sculpted with dragons clawing its nails to the pillars and staring to the occupants inside the chamber. It felt eerie in his opinion.

The Gold King sat in front of him with closed eyes, putting his arms inside the sleeves of his kimono, lost in thought. Weismann began to fidget as his folded legs started to feel numb under his weight, and he wondered if the silence was actually his friend’s way to punish him. However, to his joy, the second king finally met his eyes and asked calmly. “You’ve just returned, Weismann. Where are you going this time?”

Weismann tilted his head and smiled calmly, “I made a promise, lieutenant that I will try to find a way to mend Red King’s Sword of Damocles. I think I might be able to find something if I go back to that place. Moreover, I know that after the last incident with Colorless king, your Sword of Damocles also suffers. I can’t stand idle knowing that.”

“The origin of Dresden Slate. That place holds too much bitter memories to you. Do you think you can handle it?” His eyes shifted to the water surface of his tea cup, reminiscing the beautiful smile of a certain lady who looked strikingly similar to Weismann with her glowing silver hair like a diamond under sunlight; the only sibling of Weismann who they had missed sincerely.

The silver-haired teen lowered his gaze with sad smile. “Years have passed, Lieutenant. Although it’s still painful to remember her, but this time I think I’ll be able to visit her after so long.”

“Are you planning to depart alone again?”

Weismann’s amber eyes softened into an innocent happiness as he answered, “No. I’ll go with my Clansmen, my family.”

Kokujoji heaved a sigh with a little smirk, “The Black Dog, huh...I would not see you off this time, Weismann, but I bid you farewell and good luck on your journey.”

“Good bye, Lieutenant. Please take care of your health until I return.” He bowed slightly and left without another glance back to his friend. He didn’t intend to make this meeting to be the last time to see his old friend, after all. He pushed open the sliding door, only to find Neko napping on Kuroh’s shoulder sloppily without a care to the world. The raven-haired vassal stayed still with his back against the wall as if meditating and his sword in his arms, allowing her to make his shoulder her personal pillow like a proper gentleman. However, as soon as Weismann stepped out the room, Kuroh glanced up immediately and poked at Neko’s forehead with his sight remained on his current master.

“Are you done visiting?”

The Silver King smiled as he closed the door behind him. “Yes. Are you sure you want to come with me? You would have to leave this country, where your previous master is resting.”

“Of course. I swore that I would protect you, didn’t I?” The black-haired vassal smiled back and lifted off from the floor slowly, giving a short time for the cat strain beside him to fully wake up from her fleeting nap. Neko stifled a yawn and stretched out with a pleased mewling sound and jingle sounds as she moved.

“I will go wherever Shiro wants!” Neko exclaimed cheerfully and leapt off, grabbing Weismann’s arm possessively. The latter only laughed at her spoilt behavior and patted her head tenderly. “Thank you. Shall we go?”

 

* * *

 

It was at the end of summer when the thought struck him.

The whole Homra members were planning his birthday as they pleased, purposely ignoring his requests every year to let them pass just like another day. Although he always paid attention to the people he was concerned about, he didn’t like being the center of attention.

Nevertheless, he would always oblige his friends, letting them celebrating it as much as they wanted every year, although he thought it was completely unnecessary. There would be several presents, weird ones, good ones, but among them, there would always be one present; a bottle of wine and a pack of cigarettes, neatly wrapped in plain blue paper and ribbon, without card or sender name, sent to Homra. It didn’t take genius for him to figure out the culprit since they only appeared after he knew a certain sharp-tongued fourth king. He had only thanked him once awkwardly, but stopped after that. He learnt it in the hard way that the correspondent was not meant to be known and if he did mention it, Munakata would deny and cut him off for weeks coldly. He didn’t understand the logic, but with Munakata, he never understood what was going on inside that highly intellectual head and he didn’t bother to try. Mikoto would just go with the flow.

Nevertheless, this year was different. Last winter he had realized that he harbored a rather troublesome feeling toward a very troublesome recipient.

It was probably foolish for him for making his life difficult, when it was already so complicated, but Mikoto was not one to fry his head over it. Today was his birthday and he intended to make use of it for once. The night had fallen and the party which was held since afternoon almost ended, by the sleepy look on the younger members of Homra. Mikoto took off from the cushion quietly, padding softly as he walked out of the bar entrance without second glance back. If he had turned around, he would notice the knowing smile on Tatara’s lips, the understanding look on Izumo’s eyes and the encouraging gaze on Anna’s groggy eyes as they watched his back leaving inaudibly. Some of the sober members would think that he was taking a smoke outside like usual, but his close friends knew better.

The summer night was hot and humid; a weather which Munakata completely despised. Mikoto frankly did not have any inclination to any season but summer was not his most favorite season for recent years because it didn’t go well with Munakata. The heat made the Blue King quite irritable and unpredictable more than he already was, and he would refuse Mikoto at night more often than any other seasons.

Anna once told him that Mikoto was warm inside out, that his body temperature was probably higher than most people, although she liked it that way because she was an angel, accepting his faults without any hesitation. But Munakata was not one with divine heart, obviously. He would seek out Mikoto proactively only when the climate was especially cold, to be his living, mobile heater. He was a devil, indeed.

Yet he loved him, so there he was, standing in front of Munakata’s apartment in the city which literally became his and Munakata’s shared apartment since they began to live together last spring after an exhausting, time-consuming coercion. He slipped in after unlocking the door and took off his shoes quietly. Just as soon as he entered the living room, his eyes quickly darted to the cobalt-haired man in dark blue yukata sitting on the couch with the puzzles pieces sprawled on the coffee table in front of him. The latter intuitively noticed his presence and looked utterly perplexed.

Munakata creased his eyebrows as he asked, “I thought you’re going to sleep over at Homra?” He heaved a fake, disappointed sigh. “And here I thought that I could have a peaceful day for myself without certain, vexing man.”

“And let you have the luxury with a whole bed for yourself? You know me better than that, Munakata.” Mikoto smirked back, already making his way to his partner. Munakata swiftly scooted over on the sofa, to give some space for Mikoto. However, the red-head man didn’t take the seat. He simply stood before Munakata, getting in the middle between him and the puzzles, and earned a questioning look from the other. “…What?” Munakata asked in soft voice.

Mikoto didn’t speak but lean down to take off the framed glasses and leave butterfly kisses on Munakata’s eyelashes before he strayed to kiss the bridge of his nose and cheeks. The latter didn’t pull back or complain; those violet eyes simply fluttered close affectionately, fully accepting the gesture and waiting.

“It’s still my birthday.” Mikoto whispered with a little smile.

Munakata tilted his head, wondering where Mikoto was going with the statement. He sneaked a glance to the clock on the wall and replied, “Yes, approximately for another 2 hours 24 minutes. So?”

Mikoto walked around the couch until he was behind Munakata while his hand rummaged his pocket. Those amethyst eyes tried to follow his movement, studying Mikoto’s intention, but when he turned around on his waist, Mikoto grasped his left hand and lifted it up to his lips. “Suoh?” He tried not to sound startled, but it tickled when Mikoto’s breath grazed his skin.

However, Mikoto shifted a little and when he released Munakata’s hand, only then he realized there was a simple golden band on his fourth finger. His eyes darkened immediately at the sight, “What is the meaning of this?”

Mikoto rested his arms on the backrest beside Munakata’s head and leant on it as he closed the distance between their faces, “Marry me?”

“Isn’t it supposed to be me who give you a present?” Munakata scowled at the sight of the ring, to Mikoto’s bewilderment.

“Well, I just thought that maybe you would agree to be my present.” He replied tentatively.

Munakata sighed resignedly, said nothing as he carefully stood up and walked away without sparing a glance until his figure vanished into the darkness of the bedroom. Mikoto only stared blankly at the retreating back, not grasping the meaning of the gesture. The latter hadn’t thrown back the ring if he refused, but he didn’t quite agree to the proposal either from the gloom on his face and Mikoto didn’t know what to make of it.

The confusion turned into a frustration in several fleeting seconds. A frown was on his face when he stomped his feet into the bedroom begrudgingly, following Munakata’s trail and grumbling all the way. However, when he entered the room, Munakata was already heading back to find Mikoto and thus they nearly bumped each other on the doorway. The Blue King was not prepared by the sudden movement that he swayed slightly as the balance lost him for a second. Mikoto promptly reached out and grabbed him on the waist, keeping him still and steady against his chest.

“Where is your cane? You’ve stopped using crutches only just recently. You should follow the doctors’ advice to use it when you walk.”

Munakata clicked his tongue and pressed his hand against Mikoto’s shoulder to push him away. “Stop babysitting me; it’s annoying. I was just surprised; that’s all.”

An awkward silence settled in and they fell into a deadlock, not knowing how to strike the conversation again. Munakata shrugged before he whirled around and sat down on the edge of the bed. Mikoto rapidly followed when he gestured for him to take a seat next to him. When the bed dipped in as Mikoto’s weight fell on it, Munakata thrust a tiny box to Mikoto, who raised an eyebrow questioningly but accepted it nonetheless.

“Just open it.” The latter coaxed softly, and Mikoto obliged without second thought. After he tore off the wrapping ribbon and unlatched the cover of the box, there was a pair of golden rings with a petite ruby or sapphire on the bands. They shimmered faintly under the ivory moonlight coming through from the slit of curtains by the window. Mikoto’s amber eyes widened incredulously at them before he gazed up to meet Munakata’s pouting face.

“I planned to give it to you tomorrow morning when you came back from Homra, but now you totally ruin it.”

Mikoto was speechless. It didn’t cross his mind that Munakata would think the same thing as he was. Commitment was a big step for them, and he couldn’t even imagine the Captain of Scepter4 to consider taking their relationship to the next level. He thought that he would have to persuade the latter for a whole night, winning him slowly over a cup of tea and milk on the table and compromising with promises and rules. The pleasant surprise numbed him; he was certain that he was delighted, but at the moment he was stunned and couldn’t think of any single, smart response.

But Munakata snapped him out of his trance as he declared frigidly, “I will only say yes if you accept that ring. I don’t want to take it back after going through unnecessary trouble to buy them.”

Mikoto laughed for a bit before he reached out for Munakata’s hand, pulled out the ring he had given and exchanged it with Munakata’s gift ring with a ruby adorning it. Afterward, he picked up the one with sapphire and wore it on his own ring finger. When he finished, he flashed his left hand with a pompous grin. “Happy now?”

“Yeah.” He whispered huskily as he leant closer to Mikoto until their lips were only a hairline away. “I’ll kill you if you let go of me.”

“How reassuring. Too bad, you’ll never have that pleasure.”

“You better be.” Munakata threatened quietly, but he mirrored the happy, identical smile on Mikoto’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, really. I don’t intend to prolong this chapter any longer with their wedding because, duh, I’ve drained all my ideas for their marriage life on the ‘Happily Ever After – Not’ fic, hahahah. 
> 
> The 1st multichapter fic I’ve ever finished ever since I start to join the fanfic writer wagon! *throws confetti* It’s all thanks to everyone’s kind and encouraging reviews! Or else, it would end up as another discontinued fic, I believe…
> 
> I would like to thank you all the readers who have stayed all these times with me, cheering me up, reminding me to keep writing and spending your time to read this story. I really hope that you guys enjoy it as much as I do writing it, even with all those horrible grammatical and vocabulary errors. Without noticing, it has been more than half a year, lol. Thank you for all your patience all these times! *glomps* Hope to see you in the next Mikorei fic. ^_^ It will be AU, which is usually not everyone’s cup of tea, so I probably won’t see some of readers there. Allow me to tell you that I’ll miss you! Thank you for staying and reading this fic until the end.
> 
> This last chapter is especially dedicated to Dana, who always gives me a push to keep writing and updating ASAP :D Thank you for all the kudos, comments and bookmarks~ They are like chocolate treats XD


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